Pennsylvania 38th Volunteer Infantry (Union)

Dranesville

Following the Battle of Ball's Bluff on October 21st, both armies halted operations in northern Virginia and went into winter quarters. Small detachments daily probed the enemy's positions, patrolled roads and obtained forage. Early on the morning of December 20th, Confederate Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, with a mixed brigade of infantry, 150 of his cavalry troopers and a four-gun Georgia battery, set out north from Centreville with some wagons on a foraging expedition into the area around Dranesville in Loudon C…READ MORE

Mechanicsville

Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac remained northeast of Richmond for three weeks after the Battle of Seven Pines. The new commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee, took that time to reorganize his defenses of the capital city and receive the reinforcements of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's division from the Shenandoah Valley. After attacking Lee inconclusively at Oak Grove on June 25th, McClellan remained in place, with four of his five army corps south of…READ MORE

Gaines' Mill

Despite his victory over the Confederates at Beaver Dam Creek on June 26th, Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter's Fifth Corps abandoned its position early on June 27th and established a new defensive line along Boatswain's Creek, just north of the Chickahominy River.READ MORE

Glendale

Following the rear guard action at Savage's Station on June 29th, Maj. Gen. George McClellan's Army of the Potomac continued its retreat toward the safety of Harrison's Landing on the James River. On June 30th, after five days of constant fighting, the Confederate divisions of Maj. Gens. Benjamin Huger, James Longstreet, and A.P. Hill converged on the retreating Union army in the vicinity of Glendale. Longstreet's and Hill's attacks penetrated the Union defense near Willis Church, routing Brig. Gen. George…READ MORE

Malvern Hill

On June 30th, the retreating Federal Army of the Potomac finally stopped at the James River at the end of seven days of fighting outside of Richmond.READ MORE

Second Bull Run

After the early summer collapse of the Union Peninsula Campaign offensive to capture Richmond, Robert E. Lee sought to move his army north and threaten Washington DC before Union forces could regroup.READ MORE

South Mountain

After his success at Second Manassas, Gen. Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia north across the Potomac River on an invasion of Maryland in September of 1862. Lee divided his army, sending a portion of it into western Maryland while Lieut. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's wing attempted to capture the Federal garrison at Harper's Ferry. The bold plan was jeopardized on September 13th when a mislaid copy of Lee's orders revealing the Confederates' plans was given to Union commander Maj. Gen. George B. M…READ MORE

Antietam

The Army of the Potomac, under the command of Maj. Gen. George McClellan, mounted a series of powerful assaults against General Robert E. Lee's forces along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17th, 1862.READ MORE

Fredericksburg

In early November, Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac, and made immediate plans to move the army once again toward Richmond.READ MORE

Lieutenant ColonelJames M. Snodgrass

ColonelJoseph W. Fisher

Brigadier GeneralSamuel W. Crawford

Gettysburg

In the summer of 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched his second invasion of the Northern states. Lee sought to capitalize on recent Confederate victories and defeat the Union army on Northern soil, which he hoped would force the Lincoln administration to negotiate for peace. Lee also sought to take the war out of the ravaged Virginia farmland and gather supplies for his Army of Northern Virginia. Using the Shenandoah Valley as cover for his army, Lee was pursued first by Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Ho…READ MORE

Mine Run

After the inconclusive Bristoe Campaign in the fall of 1863, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade planned one more offensive against Gen. Robert E. Lee in northern Virginia before winter weather ended military operations. In late November, Meade attempted to steal a march southeast from Culpeper Courthouse, turn south through the Wilderness and strike the right flank of the Confederate army south of the Rapidan River. On November 27th, Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early, in command of Ewell's Corps, marched east on the Orange…READ MORE