After burying the dead at Bull Run, the 139th “…hastened forward after the army, coming up with it on the 17th of September, the day of the battle of Antietam, and was at once put in line but did not become engaged.”1)History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, Samuel P. Bates, page 378
Map from the Philadelphia Inquirer sent home by Stephen Minot Weld.2)War Diary and Letters of Stephen Minot Weld, accessed here
Marker showing location of Couch’s Division September 18, 1862.
My approximation of Couch’s Division’s movements based on the description on the marker above.
The day after Antietam, the regiment was pushed forward toward the Potomac, participating in a skirmish near Williamsport, Maryland, about nine miles northwest of their position on September 18th..((Id.
The 139th was incorporated into the Army of the Potomac, being reassigned from the IV Corps to the VI Corps, commanded by William B. Franklin. It was in the Third Brigade along with the 93rd, 98th and 102nd Pennsylvania regiments and the 62nd New York.3)Id. Although the brigade and division assignments changed occasionally, these five regiments would remain together for the remainder of the war.
Originally the 139th was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division (Couch’s) IV Corps. The marker shown below describes the movements of the Division on the Antietam Battlefield. They were not engaged in the fighting.
References
| ↑1 | History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, Samuel P. Bates, page 378 |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | War Diary and Letters of Stephen Minot Weld, accessed here
Marker showing location of Couch’s Division September 18, 1862. My approximation of Couch’s Division’s movements based on the description on the marker above.
The day after Antietam, the regiment was pushed forward toward the Potomac, participating in a skirmish near Williamsport, Maryland, about nine miles northwest of their position on September 18th..((Id. |
| ↑3 | Id. |