Excerpts taken from a story written by Randall E. Black
The companies of the 2nd PA HA were housed at some DC Forts along the northeast
boundary of DC. Forts Slemmer (8), Bunker Hill (9), Thayer, Lincoln (10), and
Saratoga and Batteries Morris and Jameson (also along the northeast boundary of
DC) were likely assignments for these men. Map of forts According to the
unit's historian, the regiment evolved from a second-rate infantry command with
only marginally proficient officers into a crack heavy artillery contingent.
For the most part, a soldier's duties at the fortifications consisted of maintaining
the existing defense structures, building new ones, constructing roads, and performing
other fatigue details. Most of this work was tough, physical labor that was performed
in all weather conditions. They also would engage in parade drill, gunnery drill,
marksmanship, and various inspection routines. The heavy artillery units also
received infantry and bayonet instruction. Battle tested veterans regarded Washington
defense duty as a "soft assignment". My great grandfather joined Company
F in August 1863 after discipline had been instilled in the unit.
Early in March 1864 Ulysses S. Grant became a Lieutenant General (general-in-chief
of all Federal armies). His new campaign objectives against Lee's Army of Northern
Virginia were planned. Grant despised manpower wastage. To support the new Virginia
campaign, Grant extracted thousands from the Washington, D.C. garrisons and turned
them into line infantry. He brought them to Culpeper and Brandy Station to join
the Army of the Potomac.
At the end of March 1864, the 2nd PA HA was transferred across the Potomac to
the defenses along the northwest boundary of DC and assigned to the garrisons
at Forts Ethan Allen (1) and Marcy. Map of forts While
there, the regiment was known for its proficiency in drill and soldierly appearance,
but still had no opportunity to display its skill in battle. The regiment numbered
eighteen hundred and thirty-six men, a much larger number than that allowed by
law. Recruits (volunteers) still continued to arrive in large numbers, swelling
the 2nd PA HA to three thousand three hundred men.
I do not know whether my great grandfather was at Ethan Allen or Marcy. Both of
these forts were not more than 20 miles from where Polly and I lived when we lived
in Rockville, MD. There is an eerie sense I get when I think of how the location
of our homes (Cherry Hill, Richmond, Rockville) followed the locations of his
assignments (Camden, Cold Harbor, DC). Just for the record, my stateside assignments
when I was in the U S Army were at Ft. Jackson, SC, Ft. Monmouth, NJ, and Ft.
Dix, NJ. The first two were for basic training and military occupational specialty
training. Ft. Dix was for processing of my assignment to Berlin, Germany and processing
of my honorable discharge from the Army.