Skip to content

Pennsylvania 121st Volunteer Infantry (Union)

9/1/62

Organized - Pennsylvania 121st Volunteer Infantry - Pennsylvania

12/13/62

Battle - Fredericksburg - Fredericksburg, Virginia

Thumbnail for Fredericksburg
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

4/30/63

Battle - Chancellorsville - Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Thumbnail for Chancellorsville
Chancellorsville

On April 27, 1863, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker launched a turning movement designed to pry Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia out of its lines at Fredericksburg.READ MORE

7/1/63

Leadership Change - Regiment - Colonel Chapman Biddle, and Major Alexander Biddle

7/1/63

Leadership Change - Brigade - Brigadier General Thomas A. Rowley, and Colonel Chapman Biddle

Brigadier GeneralThomas A. Rowley

ColonelChapman Biddle

7/1/63

Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General Thomas A. Rowley, and Major General Abner Doubleday

Brigadier GeneralThomas A. Rowley

Major GeneralAbner Doubleday

7/1/63

Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Chapman Biddle

7/1/63

Leadership Change - Brigade - Brigadier General Thomas A. Rowley

Brigadier GeneralThomas A. Rowley

7/1/63

Battle - Gettysburg - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Thumbnail for Gettysburg
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

5/5/64

Battle - Wilderness - Spotsylvania County, Virginia; Orange County, Virginia

Thumbnail for Wilderness
Wilderness

The first battle between Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee erupted late in the morning of May 5, 1864, as Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's Union V Corps attacked Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps on the Orange Turnpike southwest of the old Chancellorsville battlefield. Although Federal infantry managed to break through at several points, the Confederate line held. Fighting shifted to the south as Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's Third Corps engaged Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps and ele…READ MORE

5/8/64

Battle - Spotsylvania Court House - Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Thumbnail for Spotsylvania Court House
Spotsylvania Court House

Following the Battle of the Wilderness, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant marched the Union army south with the hope of capturing Spotsylvania Court House and preventing Robert E. Lee's army from retreating further. Lee's Confederates, however, managed to get ahead of the Federals and block the road. Fighting began on May 8th, when the Union Fifth Corps under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and the Sixth Corps under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick engaged Confederate Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson's First Corps at Laurel Hi…READ MORE

5/31/64

Battle - Cold Harbor - Hanover County; near Mechanicsville, Virginia

Thumbnail for Cold Harbor
Cold Harbor

After two days of inconclusive fighting along Totopotomoy Creek northeast of Richmond, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee turned their sights on the crossroads of Cold Harbor. Roads emanating through this critical junction led to Richmond as well as supply and reinforcement sources for the Union army. On May 31, 1864, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's cavalry captured Cold Harbor. The next day, Sheridan held the crossroads against a Confederate attack. With reinforcements from both armies arriving…READ MORE

6/15/64

Battle - Second Petersburg - Petersburg, Virginia

Thumbnail for Second Petersburg
Second Petersburg

As the Overland Campaign concluded, the strategic goals of Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant shifted from the defeat of Robert E. Lee's army in the field to eliminating the supply and communication routes to the Confederate capital at Richmond. The city of Petersburg, 24 miles south of Richmond, was the junction point of five railroads that supplied the entire upper James River region. Grant knew Petersburg was the key to the capture of Richmond and that Lee would be forced to defend it. Marching south from Co…READ MORE

6/21/64

Battle - Jerusalem Plank Road - Petersburg, Virginia

9/30/64

Battle - Peebles' Farm - Dinwiddie County, Virginia

Thumbnail for Peebles' Farm
Peebles' Farm

In combination with Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler's offensive north of the James River at New Market Heights, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant extended his left flank to cut Confederate lines of communication southwest of Petersburg. Two divisions of the Ninth Corps under Maj. Gen. John G. Parke, two divisions of the Fifth Corps under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, and Brig. Gen. David M. Gregg's cavalry division were assigned to the operation. On September 30th, the Federals departed Fort Wadsworth and marched via…READ MORE

4/1/65

Leadership Change - Regiment - Major West Funk

4/1/65

Leadership Change - Brigade - undefined Bvt BG Richard Coulter

4/1/65

Leadership Change - Division - undefined Bvt MG Samuel W. Crawford

4/1/65

Battle - Five Forks - Five Forks, Virginia

Thumbnail for Five Forks
Five Forks

The Union victory along the White Oak Road on March 31st threatened to destabilize the entire Confederate line west of Petersburg. General Robert E. Lee ordered Maj. Gen. George Pickett with his infantry division and the cavalry divisions of Col. Thomas Munford, Maj. Gen. W.H.F. Lee, and Maj. Gen Thomas Rosser to hold the vital crossroads of Five Forks, along the White Oak Road five miles west of the previous fighting there. Pickett's defensive line was not well constructed, and much of his cavalry force w…READ MORE

4/9/65

Battle - Appomattox Court House - Appomattox Court House, Virginia

Thumbnail for Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House

Between 26,000 and 28,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered and were paroled.READ MORE

6/2/65

Mustered Out - Pennsylvania 121st Volunteer Infantry - Pennsylvania

Related Records

Search for related service records