The 96th Pennsylvania Volunteers infantry regiment was formed in 1861 - its ranks filled by nearly 1,200 Irish and German immigrants from Schuylkill County. Drawing on letters, diaries, memoirs and other accounts, this comprehensive history documents their combat service from the point of view of the rank-and-file soldier, along with their views on the war, slavery, emancipation and politics.

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Foreword by Edwin C. Bearss Introduction I. “Attention: young, sober, active men” II. “We always respond with three cheers” III. “My God! The ­ninety-sixth has never been under fire!” IV. “The enemy … fought like devils” V. “Now, Pennsylvanians, do your duty” VI. “Colonel, your ­coal-heavers did well!” VII. “Our soldiers are very much discouraged” VIII. “Try and gobble some of them” IX. “The Sixth Corps has come!” X. “O how I do wish that them Irish drunkerts would get drafted” XI. “The skirmishers were sent out ahead” XII. “Forward, double quick! Charge!” XIII. “O God, what a sight” XIV. “There was hope in the air” Appendix: Roster and Muster Roll Sources Chapter Notes Bibliography Index

David Ward’s The 96th Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War is a fine history of the Infantry.  A regiment in the Army of the Potomac’s Sixth Corps, the 96th Pennsylvania served with distinction in the campaigns in the East. Ward’s book has all the elements of a model regimental history from its moving narrative to its research in many unpublished manuscripts and newspapers. The book is filled with accounts by its members and all the intrigues that plagued volunteer units. It is a most welcome work."" - Jeffry D. Wert, author of The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac.