History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5; prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature, by Samuel P. Bates.

TWENTY-EIGHTH PEGIMENT.
ABRLY in June Ifi, Co181, lJohn W, Geary obtained penrission from
President Lincoln to raise, in Pennsylvania, a regiment of volmteers to
serve for three yeurs; He accrmdingly estabished a camp at Oxford Park, in
PhikJdelphia, and on the 28th of that month the Twenty-eighth Eegiment,
which was uniformed and equipped at his own expense, wis being' mustered
in-to the service of the United States.
The regimeinu when completed, cnsisted of fifteen companies, nnabering
fifteen hundred and fifty-one officers' and mei.broight together fro=' various
sections of the State; companies A and N having been organized in Luzerne
county; B, i Westmorelandi C., I, KM and P, in Philadelphia; E, iD
Carbon; F, in CGambia and Allegheny i G, tH and I, in Allheny, and o, in
Huntingdon.
The field and staff offcers were JEohn.. Geary, Golan nl Gabriel De!
Korponay, Lieutenant Colonel; HectorTyndale, Maor; John Flynn, Adjutantv
Benjamin F. Lee, Qartermast^ H. Earnest Goodman Sargeon; Samuel
Logan, Assistant Surgeon, and Charles W. Reifsley Chaplainm
From surplus recruits a battery was formed and attached to the regiment,
which was known as.Knap's Battery of the Tw'enty-eighth Penasylvania Vol
unteers. Mr. Charles Knap, of Pittsburg, presented this company with four
steel guns, which were subsequently exchanged bythe government for six tenpounder Parrotts. Also connected with the regiment was Beck's celebrated
Philadelphia Brass Band.
The uniform was of gray cloth, manufactured in the vicimity of Oxford Park,
and furnished to the several companies as they were nmustered in. This sbsequently gave place to the blue regulation uniform. The arms were the Enfield
rifle with the formidable sword bayonet. These were obtained of a firm in
Philadelphia, who fortunately had them for sale, else the regint ould have.
been armed with the or dinry musket, altered from the flinmto persion lock1
many of which were in possession of the government.
Whilst Colonel Geary was actively engaged in forming, equipping and
drilling his regiment, events were transpiring which demanded prompt and energetic action on the part of the Government relative to raising additional
troops and hastening them to the field. On the 21st of July the disastrous
battle of Bull Run was fought; and the panic which seized upon and disorganized a great portion of the army, spread its terrifying influence through all
parts of the Northern States, and had the effect to arouse the heads of the national departments to a realizing sense of the danger with which the country
was threatened. Re-infor.eeents were consequently ordered forward to join,
as rapidly as possible, the defeated army at' the front; and hence, in obedience
to orders from General Scott, the Colonel, on the 27th, moved with ten com