Dedication of Moument

		     
                         
     Comrades and friends:- I approach the duty assigned to me in the
ceremonies of this Pennsylvania day with great diffidence, and with a
deep sense of distrust in my ability to do justice to the merits of my
gallant comrades of the One hundred and forty-eighth Pennsylvania
Regiment, or to the demands of this interesting occasion. I regard in indeed,
no trifling task to properly, clearly and concisely tell the story of the
honorable part borne by the One hundred and forty-eight in the momentous and
thrilling events that here transpired twenty-six years ago - events which
render this field hallowed ground, dear to every lover of liberty and the
cause of free, constitutional government.
    The One hundred and forty-eight Pennsylvania Volunteers was recuited
and organized into a regiment in the months of August and September, in the
year 1862.  For a period, during the autumn of that year, it performed duty in
Maryland, along the Northern Central railway, one of the most important lines
of communications between the North and the capital city of the Nation. Under
the orders, and almost constantly under the personal direction of an able,
alert and energetic young commander, now the honored Governor of this great
Commonwealth, who was thoroughly alive to the far-reaching  importance of
drill and discipline, the months given to this duty were wisely and profitably
spent. No daylight hours were wasted in idleness. Life, activity and industry
were present in every camp, and a system of regular squad, company and
battalion drills was instituted and enforced, together with daily instructions
in all the duties pertaining to a soldier's life. Rapid and encouraging
progress was made, and it may be said that the impress of discipline and
proficiency in drill here made upon the regiment remained with it during its
entire term of service.
    In the month of December, a demand arose for additional troops to
strengthen the Army of the Potomac, then at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the
One hundred and forty-eighth was among the regiments at that time ordered to
the front. Just after the close of the futile and disastrous assaults made upon
that stronghold of the enemy by that army, the regiment became part of it. It
was assigned to the First Brigade of the First Division of the Second Corps,
the corps, division and brigade commanded respectively by Generals Couch,
Hancock and Caldwell. The Brigade, as then constituted, was composed of the
Fifth New Hampshire, the Seventh and Sixty-first New York, and the Eighty-first
and One hundred and forty-eighth Pennsylvania regiments. Remaining in camp near
Falmouth during the winter month, the One hundred and forty-eighth, in the
spring campaign of 1863, marched with this brigade to Chancellorsville, and in
the unfortunate battle received its first baptism of fire, bearing itself most
gallantly under extremely adverse circumstances, and receiving honorable
mention and commendation for corps, division and brigade commanders.
    Returning with the army to the old camps opposite Fredericksburg, the
regiment, materially decreased in numbers by its recent severe experience in
battle, which resulted in heavy losses in killed and wounded, remained quietly
performing camp and picket duty until early in the month of June, 1863, when
began that series of wonderful marches and complicated maneuvers which finally
bought the great contending armies face to face upon the soil of Pennsylvania.
Two mighty, battle tried hosts the were- the Army of the Potomac and the Army
of Northern Virginia ! Often had they confronted each other as adversaries, and
fierce and bloody had been many of the encounters between them for supremacy.

    The initiative of the Gettysburg campaign was made by the Confederate
commander on the 3d day of June. It began by the withdrawal of a division of
Longstreet's Corps from the line of Fredericksburg, which marched to the rear,
crossed the Rapidan river, and halted in the vicinity of Culpeper Court House.
This first movement was followed by successive withdrawals of the troops of
Longstreet and Ewell, until only  A.P. Hill was left to face the army under
General Hooker on the opposite band of the Rappahannock. Thus Hill remained
until Hooker, apprised to a certain extend of Lee's designs, by information
gained in the cavalry battle of Brandy Stations, began the counter movements of
the Army of the Potomac.
    On the morning of the 13th of June, the last of the Union army had
disappeared behind the Stafford Hills, and then Hill was free to follow after
those who preceded him. Marching by the lower gaps of the Blue Ridge, Lee, with
Ewell's Corps, passed into the Shennandoah Valley, swept with irresistible
power through the valley and force Milroy from Winchester; thence to the
Potomac, across that river to Hagerstown, and on down the Cumberland Valley to
Chambersburg. Ewell was pushed forward to Carlisle, and Early by way of
Gettysburg, to York and Wrightsville. These points were occupied on the 27th
and 28th, while the advanced cavalry scouts had reached the Susquehanna below
Harrisburg.
    To the loyal people of the North, in utter ignorance of the whereabouts of
the Army of the Potomac, the situation at this time must have been truly
alarming. But Hooker, with the host of tried veterans, still undaunted and
undismayed by previous reverses, had not been idle, and appearances were
therefore somewhat deceptive. When the Union soldiers abandoned the
Rappahannock on the 13th, the entire army was headed north, moving by interior
lines and covering the city of Washington. On the 25ht and 26th the passage of
the Potomac was made at Edwards Ferry, and by the 28th General Hooker's entire
force was concentrated around Frederick, Maryland. Here it was that General
Joseph Hooker retired from the command of the army and was succeeded by
Major-General George G. Meade. The march towards the north was, however,
continued on the 30th. On the same day Lee began his movement of concentration,
which, to him, had now become an absolute necessity, and thus it was that the
contending forces- Meade marching northward and Lee drawing in his scattered
column towards his designated place of concentration near Cashtown- were
brought together upon the field of Gettysburg to again measure strength with
each other in the gage of battle.
    Before starting from the camps of the Rappahannock, a number of important
changes had occurred in our immediate command. The Seventh New York, a two-year
regiment, whose term had expired, had left us. That superb embodiment of every
soldierly quality that man can possess, General Hancock, had been honored with
the command of the Second Corps; General Caldwell assigned to the First
Division, and Colonel Edward E. Cross of the Fifth New Hampshire, to the First
Brigade, of which the One hundred and forty-eighth still formed a part. On the
march north but few occurrences of a noteworthy character befel the regiment.
There were the usual toilsome marches and the usual exposures and hardships
incident to an active campaign in the field, all of which were borne with
patience and fortitude by the men.
    The morning of the 1st of July found the One hundred and forty-eighth, with
the command to which it belonged, at Uniontown, a village in the State of
Maryland, twenty-three miles southeast of Gettysburg, In the forenoon of that
hot July day a march was made to Taneytown, which place was reached about noon.
In the afternoon that march was continued in the direction of Gettysburg,
eleven miles to the north. During the afternoon the bloody grapple of the First
and Eleventh Corps with the advancing forces of Hill and Ewell was taking place,
yet it is a most singular fact, though so near the field, that no sound of
battle reached our ears; nor did we know that a terrible fight had occurred
between these advanced columns of the two armies until an ambulance bearing the
dead body of the lamented General Reynolds, who had fallen early in the strife,
passed us on its way to the rear. Late in the evening, as the shades of night
were coming on, our column, when within two miles of Gettysburg, was halted by
General Hancock and placed in line of battle, facing north across the Taneytown
road. It was understood that this position was taken in order that the Second
Corps might be used in support of either flank of the army, as exigencies might
require the coming morning. We stayed in this position until after daylight of
the morning of the 2d. and then, after a careful and rigid inspection of arms,
advanced to the field. The corps was first massed in the woods to the right
inspection of arms, advanced to the field. The corps was first massed some time
during the forenoon, when the development of the lines of the enemy to their
right, from the town then held by them, along the rear of the crest of Seminary
Ridge became apparent. The Second Corps then changed position to the line along
Cemetery Ridge, and facing to the west, confronted the Confederate position
along the opposite ridge. The First Division held the left of the Second Corps
line, the First Brigade on the left of the division. The division was here
massed by brigades in column of regiments-the formation of the First Brigade
presenting the Sixty-first New York in the first line; next to the Eighty-first
Pennsylvania and then the One hundred and forty-eight Pennsylvania in two lines
-the left wing in rear of the right. The One hundred and forty-eighth was thus
massed in two lines because it was about double the size of either of the two
regiments in front. The First New Hampshire, which had been detained some
distance out the Taneytown road, afterwards joined the brigade and was placed
in the rear of the One hundred and forty-eighth.
    Whilst lying inactive in this position, I think every Pennsylvanian was
inspired by the thought that he was on home soil, and that, with rare
exceptions, each one nerved himself for the great struggle which he realized to
be so near at hand, and in which he knew he would be called upon to bear a
dangerous and it might be a fatal part. To us, however, except that moving
columns of infantry were to be seen; that the dull rumble of artillery wheels,
and occasional cannon shot, and at intervals a sharp rattle of musketry away to
the right, were to be heard, the early part of that memorable day was passing
in comparative quietude and with little that was eventful. But here our first
casualty occurred. A shell, fired from the opposite ridge, exploded over the
regiment, and private George Osman, of Company C, was the first soldier of the
One hundred and forty-eighth killed upon the field of Gettysburg.
    About the middle of the day, looking from where the One hundred and
forty-eighth was lying towards the cross-road to the south, which runs from the
Taneytown road across the northern base of Little Round Top to the Emmitsburg
road, a strong column of infantry is seen passing towards the latter road.  We
do no know what it means, but soon it is ascertained to be the Third Corps,
under General Sickles, advancing to occupy the high ground over which passes
the Emmitsburg road at Sherfy's buildings, near the spot that afterward became
so famous as the peach orchard. Sickles reaches his position, and forms his
lines of battle - his right along the road to the peach orchard, facing west -
his left refused and extending from the angle made at the peach orchard to the
Devil's Den, Facing nearly to the south. The movement of this corps was
admirably executed, and we watched, with intense interest, the troops marching
with firmness and precision to the positions assigned them.
    Longstreet has also begun his movement toward our left, his march well
masked from observations by the ridges and dense wood west of the Emmitsburg
road. The positions of the Third Corps seemed to offer him a favorable
opportunity for a successful assault, and he did not delay long in taking
advantage of it. The Third Corps is barely prepared to receive an attack, before
he hurls his battalions against its left with impetuosity and determination,
and then began one of the most remarkable encounters of opposing forces know in
the annals of modern warfare. The resistance offered by the Third Corps To this
assault was stubborn, persistent and vigorous, but at last, finding himself
sorely pressed, General Sickles is obliged to call for help, and the First
Division of the Second Corps, by order of General Hancock, is at once detached
from the corps and hurried to the assistance of Birney's Division, still
engaged in a desperate struggle with its assailants. The four brigades of our
division, as before described, were massed by brigades in column of regiments.
These masses promptly moved at the double-quick by the left, and in that order
approached the scene of action near the wheat-field. Observers of the rapid and
splendid strides of these four massed brigades along the western slope of
Cemetery Ridge toward the left describe the sight, in glowing words, as one of
the most inspiring and exciting witnessed during the battle. In the fight that
followed the One hundred and forty-eighth bore a conspicuous and gallant part.
The First Brigade, leading the division, was the first to deploy into line of
battle. Before reaching the cross-road already mentioned a halt was called. The
Sixty-first New York then filed to the right; the regiment was followed by the
Eighty-first Pennsylvania, and it, in turn, by the One hundred and forty-eighth;
but the One hundred and forty-eight being in two lines, the first company of
the right wing to follow the Eighty-first was Company C with the colors, and
the last, Company A; Company B; of the left wing, followed Company A, and thus
the line was drawn out, The line was then faced to the left before crossing the
road info the wheat-field, and the regiment found itself in anomalous condition
of being on only faced by the rear rank, but inverted by wings - Companies A
and B in the center, and the center companies far out of place at the extreme.
This eccentricity of formation, I am happy to say, did not, in the slightest
manner, affect the conduct of the regiment. Previous drill and discipline had
provided for just such conditions; and it is a fact in which we may feel some
pride, that officers and men acquitted themselves with as much credit, bore
themselves with as much coolness, as though the order of alignment had been
regular and habitual. Advancing into the wheat-field a short distance, a second
halt for a few minutes was made, and then, rushing forward, we met the enemy.
A volley was sent into their lines, and, although we were also under a severe
fire from which many fell, among them the brigade commander, the advance of the
brigade could not be checked. We seemed to have approached the line of Birney's
Division at a point from which the troops had been taken to support another
portion of the front - there being apparently quite a vacancy or gap between
the right of Ward's Brigade and the left of De Trobriand, but the vacant place
was filled and held with cool determination and unflinching firmness. Of this
advance of the First Brigade, General Caldwell, in his official report of the
battle, says:
    The position assigned me was on the right of the Fifth and the left of the
Third Corps, and I was ordered to check and drive back the enemy who where
advancing at that point. I ordered Colonel Cross, commanding the First Brigade,
to advance in line of battle through a wheat-field, his left resting on the
woods which skirted the field. He advanced but a short distance when he
encountered the enemy, and opened upon him a terrific fire, driving him
steadily to the farther end of the wheat-field.

    Of the same advance, Colonel McKeen says:
    The brigade steadily drove back the enemy to the far end of the wheat-field.
So quickly was this done that prisoners were taken by the brigade before the
enemy had time to spring from their hiding placed to retreat.
    I may here state as a fact worthy of note, that the  "hiding places"
mentioned by Colonel McKeen were the stone fence and boulders along the  edge
of the wood, behind which a number of the enemy had taken refuge, and were
obliged to surrender to the One hundred and forth-eighth.
    Under a hot fire of musketry, which was duly returned in kind, the One
hundred and forty-eighth reached the far end of the wheat-field, seven
companies crossing the stone fence into the woods, while the other three
companies remained in line in the open field. Here the battle was desperate and
sanguinary, the enemy endeavoring with might  and persistency to drive us back,
while the brigade held fast with marvelous valor and unyielding tenacity. This
thinned by the large number who were falling killed or wounded, ammunition was
running low, when, opportunely, a brigade of the Fifth Corps was found to
relieve a large part of our line. A part of the One hundred and forty-eighth
and the regiments to the right were then retired across the wheat-field and the
road at its border, where they re-formed behind a stone fence near the latter,
just as the sun was sinking behind the western mountains. An incident of this
withdrawal of the First brigade which here deserves mentions, is that a part of
the One hundred and forty-eighth with the Fifth New Hampshire, was commpelled
to remain in position for a considerable time after the balance of the brigade
had been relieved. Colonel Henry B. McKeen, now commanding the brigade in place
of Colonel Cross, mortally wounded soon after the advance , discovered that by
retiring the entire brigade, the left flank of the brigade which had come to
his relief would be exposed to attack, and to avert this danger he ordered the
portions of his command mentioned to remain. Colonel McKeen makes special
mentions of this detachment, and the service it rendered, in his report, and
his words are highly complimentary, He says;

    The Fifth (New Hampshire) and the One hundred and forty-eight (Pennsylvania)
remained in position, steadily holding the enemy in check, until every round of
cartridge in this portion of the brigade was expended, and even then held their
position until relieved by a brigade of General Barnes' Division of the Fifth
Corps. Passing the relieving brigade by file, they retired in splendid order, as
they were enfiladed by a galling fire from the left flank (faced to the rear).

    The presence of this little detachment in position had also another effect
besides protecting the flank of the relieving brigade. Later in the action than
the First Brigade, Colonel John R. Brooke, with this splendid Fourth Brigade of
our division, had swept in a headlong charge across the wheat-field farther to
the right, and driving everything before him, had crossed the stone fence and
reached the top of the hill in the woods beyond. His position here was an
exposed one; and he was repeatedly told to look out fo his left flank. He at
once refused one of his regiments on that flank, but contrary to expectations,
he experienced no trouble from that direction. Hearing afterwards of the
portions of the First Brigade that  remained in place by Colonel Mckeen's order
Colonel Brooke freely acknowleged that it was their tire that kept the enemy
off his threatened flank.

    Of the conduct of the division General Caldwell was fully satisfied, as
appears in another extract from his report which I will quote. He says:

    The division of the afternoon of the 2d fought with its accustomed
gallantry, and performed everything that could be expected of either officers
or men. The large number of killed and wounded attest its desperate valor. That
it fell back was owing to the breaking of the troops at the right, permitting
the enemy to get on its flank and rear.

   This is a satisfactory compliment from the commander of the division, but I
think he falls into a slight inaccuracy of fact, no doubt inadvertent on his
part, in the last sentence of the quotation. It does an injustice to the First
Brigade. When he came to speak of "falling back." he should have excepted the
First Brigade from his general statement, because in no sense should it be
understood that this brigade was forced to fall back from any cause, and not a
single man, unless wounded, left its line until it was regularly relieved by
other troops, when it retired under orders.
    Late in the evening of the 2d when the brigade, lacking the many who had
fallen in the battle of the wheat-field, had been again united, it marched to
the position on the left of the other two divisions of the corps from which it
had been detached. The brigade was here placed on the right of the division,
and deployed by regiments in a single line of battle, and, weary and worn by
the toil and excitement of the afternoon, all sank to rest for the night upon
the crest of Cemetery Ridge, while many of our comrades were sleeping the long
sleep of death in the wheat-field and woods where they had fallen. The morning
brought no change in our situation, except that upon the appearance of General
Hancock at an early hour, orders were issued to strengthen that part of the
line by artificial defenses with any means at hand. In our front many of the
fences of the town lots were still standing intact, and at an intimation by
Hancock that the rails could be utilized in the construction of a breastwork,
these fences disappeared as if my magic; the rails were brought in, and along
the entire front of the One hundred and forty-eighth a breastwork, as strong as
it could be made with such material, was speedily built. When this had been
accomplished artillery came to the front; Thompson's battery took position with
the One hundred and forty-eighth and the men of the regiment, borrowing the
picks and shovels carried by the battery, still further increased the strength
and safety of their defenses by giving to the bare rails a substantial covering
of earth. The reward for the time and labor expended in this work came later in
the day. The silence of the forenoon of the 3d along the Second Corps was
ominous of something of weighty import to come. That the enemy had some great
purpose in view none could doubt. At last a clue to their intentions is
apparent. Artillery is beginning to occupy every available spot along the crest
of Seminary Ridge and every other point of advantage along their lines. They
thus placed in position one hundred and thirty-eight guns, while on our side
the enormous concentrations of artillery, owing to our shorter line, could only
be offset with eighty. All was finally in readiness, when, at 1 o'clock, the
quietness of the forenoon was suddenly broken by the reverberations of two
signal guns, and these signals were immediately followed by a terrific outburst
from the entire Confederate concentration that fairly shook the earth. The
Union guns for awhile remained silent. "withholding their fire," as Swinton
says, "until the first hostile outburst had spent itself." But in a short time
the guns on our side began to speak in reply, and for over two hours this
prodigious duel of over two hundred cannon, hurling shot and shell from ridge
to ridge, continued. When the mad roar of the guns, the heavens above us seemed
alive with screeching, shrieking missiles of destruction and death; and yet,
with the protection afforded by the defenses built in the morning, the
casualties along the line of the One hundred and forty-eighth were exceedingly
small.
    About 4 o'clock the clamor of this noisy combat began to die away, and soon
Confederate columns of infantry were seen preparing for an attack on the center
of the Union lines on Cemetery Ridge. They moved forward in splendid battle
array, and at first it appeared that their objective point would be the First
Division, Not so, however. On reaching the Emmitsburg road, near the Codori
house, Pickett's columns made a oblique move to their left, and the front of
the division was for a little while clear. The weight of the assault fell upon
Webb's Philadelphia Brigade of the Second Division, and the assault, repulse
and all the dramatic featured connected therewith  can form no part of my
recital. Shortly afterward, however, an isolated brigade of the enemy to the
right of Pickett, commanded by Wilcox, appeared on our front. Moving forward to
the assault, this column had partly passed the troops of Stannard's Vermont
Brigade, who had been placed somewhat to the right and in advance. Still
pressing forward, these Confederates soon came within musket range of our
brigade. They were received with a volley and at the same time found themselves
vigorously assailed on their flank by Stannard, who had promptly made a change
of front for that purpose. Those of them who had passed Stannard, seeing the
hopelessness of their attack, and knowing that retreat was impossible, threw
down their arms in token of surrender and passed over our breastworks prisoners
of war, a large number passing over the position of the One hundred and
forty-eighth. the remainder of this column made a hasty retreat, and the
assault was over.
    My Comrades, the mighty contest of the 1st, 2d and 3d day of July, 1863,
was not at an end, and the time had come to count losses. In our regiment they
were exceedingly severe. Out of four hundred of actual strength carried into
the action on this field nearly one-third where killed or wounded, the heaviest
loss occurring on the 2d. The record of casualties may be stated as follows:
    Killed, officer, 1; wounded, officers, 6; killed, men 18; wounded, men, 95;
missing, men, 5; total of losses, 125.
    Of the wounded one officer and ten men subsequently died of their wounds.
The two gallant officers who lost their lives here were Captain Robert M.
Forster, of Company C, and Lieutenant John A. Bayard, of Company H, both of
whom fell in the wheat-field.
    Captain Forster was and able officer, of fine intelligence, and his death
was indeed a great loss to the regiment. He was a strict and excellent
disciplinarian, prompt and energetic in the performance of every duty. He
attended faithfully to the interests of his company, and always took great
pride in seeing  it in good condition, The loss of Lieutenant Bayard was also
keenly felt. He was a fine drill-master, a quality acquired by some years of
service in the regular army, and the ease and grace he displayed in handling a
company on drill or parade were often the subject of complimentary remarks by
his fellow officers.

    On this historic field the One hundred and forty-eight performed splendid
and valuable service. From thence its standing was established. To the end of
the war it always ranked among the best of the veteran regiments of the Second
Corps, and as a recognition of the part it played here, it is only necessary
for me to give you another short extract from Colonel McKeen, because of the
direct reference to the regiment which it contains. It reads as follows:

    I have only to state that the brigade fought with its usual gallantry, and
the regiment I had the honor to command in the early part of the engagement,
comparatively a new one, equaled in coolness and gallantry the balance of the
brigade - old veterans of the Peninsula.

    And not, my comrades, as a conclusion to my narrative, this brings me to
state how it happened that Colonel McKeen, of the Eighty-first, was in command
of the regiment in the early part of the Gettysburg engagement. I deem it an
act of duty to make this statement, yet I venture upon the subject with some
hesitations, for one of the persons of whom I shall speak lost his life in this
wheat-field. It would be ungracious to say anything unkind of him, and, so far
as I can help it, I will not do so. The person to whom I refer is Colonel Edward
E. Cross, under whom, as our brigade commander, we marched to this field.
Colonel Cross was undoubtedly a dashing, brave and impetuous soldier, but in
other personal characteristics he was not noted for giving much consideration
to the rights and feelings of the soldiers. Now, because of this dislike, or
prejudice, or whatever it may have been, officers and men of our regiment were
almost daily, from the day we broke camp on the Rappahannock until we reached
Gettysburg, made to suffer wrong and injustice from him. One officer in
particular, at the very out-set of the campaign, seemed to have incurred his
open displeasure. That officer was Lieutenant-Colonel Robert McFarlane,
commanding officer of the regiment in the absence of Colonel Beaver, who had
not recovered from the severe wound he had received at Chancellorsville.
Colonel McFarlane soon became a victim of this displeasure; yet it is a truth,
know to myself and others, that if he ever gave offense to Colonel Cross it was
only in such efforts as he made to protect himself and those who served under
him from imposition and injustice. However that may be, on the evening of the
30th of June, 1863, while in bivouac at Uniontown, Maryland, the company
commanders were called together to meet Colonel McKeen, and were by him
informed that he had come to the regiment by order of Colonel Cross to assume
command of it. To say that all were astounded and shocked at this sudden and
unceremonious announcement is to give mild terms to their feelings. It must be
said, however, that if such as arbitrary and cruel act of injustice was to be
perpetrated, a less objectionable officer than Colonel McKeen could not have
selected to place in command. He was an officer and soldier of excellent repute,
highly esteemed by all who knew him, and in all respects one under whom a
subordinate might cheerfully serve. Under the circumstances we could only
repress our indignation and submit. Without a murmur of open complaint at the
time, thought the provocations was grievous, Colonel McFarlane quietly bore his
humiliation, Courageous man and soldier as he was, he followed his regiment to
Gettysburg and gallantly shared its dangers. On this wheat-field, after the fall
of Colonel Cross, and Colonel McKeen, by virtue of  his rank had become the
brigade commander, so acceptable to him had been Colonel McFarlane's conduct
in the fight, that his first act was to direct Colonel McFarlane to resume
command of the regiment, thus in a measure atoning for the wrong of his
predecessor in command. From that moment until the battle ended, the regiment
was in charge of Colonel McFarlane. I have regarded this statement due to
Colonel McFarlane and this is a proper time and proper place in which to make
it.

    Comrades of the One hundred and forty-eighth. We have met here to-day to
dedicate yonder massive and imposing pile granite. It stands there, not alone a
tribute to the value and importance of the services you rendered upon the field
of Gettysburg, the events of which, so far as you are concerned, I have so
imperfectly, though I believe truthfully, tried to tell. You participated in
many other campaigns, made many other weary and toilsome marches, and fought in
many other bloody battles. From Chancellorsville to the surrender at Appomattox,
your presence as a regimental unit of the grand old corps was felt, and in no
campaign, on no march and in no battle in which you were engaged, whether upon
the skirmish line, of which service you always had a large share, or in the
line of battle in the midst of the fray, will it be said that you ever shrank
form the full performance of your duty. At all times and under all surroundings
you had the respect and confidence of those in high command over you, for well
they knew you would never fail them in the hour of trial and danger. This
record of our regiment is a proud one, and the monument will tell the story to
generations yet unborn, for its list of battles waged for the preservation of
the Union is more impressive, suggestive and eloquent than any poor words of
mine.
    As nearly as it can be approximated, the total enrolment of our regiment
was 1,370 officers and men, and the causalities in all actions in which it
participated were as follow: Killed, seven officers and one hundred and
twenty-one men: wounded, thirty-four officers and five hundred and eighty-one
men; captured or missing, four officers and one hundred and sixty-eight men;
making the aggregate of casualties in action nine hundred and fifteen out of
the total enlistment of 1,370.

    The deaths from all causes were as follows: Killed, seven officers and one
hundred and twenty-one men; died of wounds received in action, six officers and
sixty-nine men; died of disease, four officers and one hundred and seventy men;
died of out her causes, twenty-two men; making a aggregate of three hundred
and ninety-nine It should also be added that the records of the regiment show a
list of over twenty-five men missing in action who were never afterwards
accounted for; but it is well known to many of the survivors of the regiment
that most of these missing men were killed in battle, and, therefore, properly
belong to the list of killed, and should be so reported. These statistics prove
that your lot as soldiers was not cast in soft or pleasant places in the rear,
but testify with startling emphasis to your presence in many scenes of danger,
carnage and death.
    To the merciful providence which led so many of us through those days of
danger with our lives - days of danger in which nearly one-third of those who
marched together to the front as the One hundred and forty-eighth Regiment were
left behind - let us render fervent and reverent thanks, and pray that our
beloved country, with its free institutions and its beneficent form of
government, re-united, purified and strengthened by the toils, sufferings and
sacrifices of the Union soldiers of 1861-65, may be safe for all time to come
from another war of rebellion. Let us also be thankful that after the lapse of
more than a quarter of a century, so goodly a number of us have been permitted
to gather here to engage in these ceremonies. It has done my heart good to meet
and greet you to-day. Comrades, my task has now been completed. I thank you
for your kind attention, and hoping that God's choicest blessings may rest upon
each one of you during the remainder of your days on earth, I bid you all a
kind adieu.


Sources

The information for the above page is from the book Pennsylvania at Gettysburg. 


Web page by Robert E. Ray great grandson of Joseph Ammerman 148th Co "B"
This page is dedicated to the memory of those who fought and/or died,
for their Country, and to those who are interested keeping the memory
of what they did alive. Let us not forget those who have gone before us.


If you have info on the 148th or comments feel free to e-mail me. 

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