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13th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

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The 13th Pennsylvania Reserves Regiment (42nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment) were said to be superior marksmen, and during the first year of the Civil War, they distinguished themselves as fighters and sharpshooters. They were organized into the 149th and 150th Regiments of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Their most important contribution to the Battle of Gettysburg occurred on McPherson's Ridge on July 1, 1863, where they fought one of the most desperate actions of the battle. During the battle, the regiment drew heavy artillery fire from Confederate guns. The shellfire was unremitting. The regiment held their ground and put up the fight of their life until the Union line collapsed and the Confederates forced them to fall back. The "Bucktails" defense at McPherson's Ridge bought valuable time for more Union units to arrive in the area and deploy for the ultimate Union victory at Gettysburg. The 143rd PA Volunteer regiment known as the "Bucktail Regiment" is one of Pennsylvania's most well-known Civil War units. The regiment obtained their famous nickname of "Bucktails" before they began their service in the Union army. For some unknown reason, recruit James Landregan removed the tail of a whitetail deer he slew, and affixed …show more content…

They realized they had a problem since no other units were up to the line with them; they had to wait this out. They were ordered to lie down in the tall grass. The fighting started to break out in front of them at a small skirmish line. Many of the men had never seen battle, so some of the men stood up to watch what was going on. Maj. John D. Musser of the 143rd wrote: "… a few shells came booming over our heads, making many of the uninitiated dodge muchly and now and then a wounded skirmisher was brought in from the skirmish line and taken to the rear, all of which had a tendency to make us nervous and uneasy…" (Tomasak,

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