Authors Posts by Chris Rasmussen

Chris Rasmussen

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Long time Civil War Enthusiast since early childhood. As a former resident of nearby Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I became interested in the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves and since then, have become engaged in researching the regiment and the men who served in it. I currently reside in Northern Virginia and work in Washington D.C.
John A. Willoughby

Letter Correspondence of Lt. John A. Willoughby, Co. G, 5th Pennsylvania Reserves

These letters are written by John A. Willoughby, of Company G, 5th Pennsylvania Reserves, prior to his commissioning as an officer. The original source of these transcripts however, has been lost. If...

Diary of Private Edwin D. Benedict, Co. C, 12th Pennsylvania Reserves

Handwritten transcriptions from a number of pages of the Diary of Private Edwin D. Benedict, who served in the Troy Guards, Company C, of the 12th Pennsylvania Reserves. As noted in the upper...
Washington, D. C., photograph taken July 11, 1863.

The Pennsylvania Reserves in the Defenses of Washington

The Battle of Fredericksburg and its aftermath would result in a number of changes in the command structure of the Pennsylvania Reserves.  During the battle, the division was part of Major General John Reynolds’...

Chaplain Samuel Jessup, 6th Pennsylvania Reserves

Samuel Jessup was born in Montrose, Pennsylvania on December 21, 1833. He attended Union Theological Seminary, and graduated in 1861. He was appointed Chaplain of the 6th Pennsylvania Reserves in June of 1861, and...
Henry Blanchard with the First State Colors 9th Reserve. Source: Advance the Colors! Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags

New Flags for the Pennsylvania Reserves

Following the Battle of Fredericksburg the Reserves were detached from the Army of the Potomac and assigned to the Defenses of Washington. In May of 1863, Colonel Horatio Sickel, of the 3rd Reserve who was commanding the division sent the following letter to Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin requesting that new regimental flags be issued to the division.

Psychosis of a Soldier:  The Troubled Story of Private Abraham B. Penman

It’s easy to sometimes overlook the normal, mundane and uneventful military tenures of volunteer soldiers when trying to tell interesting stories.  We tend to favor those whose decorated military careers are obvious, and those stories that have been told, and retold generation after generation.  In 2011 we were presented with a number of transcripts of original Civil War letters written by Abraham Penman to his wife, Elizabeth.

The Hardest Part of the Battle is the Getting into It

Sergeant Major Andrew Porter Morrison Preface: This article originally appeared in 1999, and is credited to Dr. James Owston and Chris Rasmussen. As he surveyed the carnage wrought by three days of battle, Sergeant Major...

Strike for Your God and Country: Richard C. Dale

Preface: This article originally appeared on the internet in 1999, and is credited to Dr. James Owston and Chris Rasmussen. Of the eleven hundred men who served in the ranks of the 9th Pennsylvania...

CMOH Winner and Deserter, Shoemaker and Physician: Samuel Johnson 9th P.R.V.C.

Samuel Johnson was born January 28, 1845 in Connellsville Pennsylvania. He was recruited by Captain John Brookbank in Connellsville. In Washington, on July 27, 1861, Johnson was mustered as a private in Co G...