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

864 SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT. 1863
until the beginning of winter. It was ordered to the front soon after the opening of the Fredericksburg campaign, and arrived at Falmouth just as the army,
after its repulse, was retiring across the river. It went into winter quarters
near Falmouth, where, with the exception of the few days engaged in Burnside's second campaign, it remained with the army inactive until spring. On
the 27th of January, 1863, Colonel Muehleck resigned, and Lieutenant Colonel
William Moore was promoted to Colonel, Major Michael A. Strong to Lieutenant Colonel, and Captain David A. Shultz to Major. The regiment now
formed part of the First Brigade*, Second Division of the Eleventh Corps.
The army having been completely re-organized by General Hooker, now in
command, was reviewed on the 10th of April by President Lincoln, preparatory
to entering upon the spring campaign.
On the 13th, preliminary to a general movement to Chancellorsville, the
brigade was sent to Kelly's Ford with orders to hold the approaches, and prepare the roads leading to it. A detachment of two hundred and thirty men of
the Seventy-third, under command of Captain D. F. Kelly, was sent on the 20th
to Rappahannock Station and Beverly Ford. On the 28th Colonel Moore received instructions to cross the river with his command in company with that
of the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth New York, rout the enemy from his fortifications on the opposite shore, and hold the ground until the engineers could
lay a bridge. Launching his pontoons unobserved in a little creek which empties
into the river a short distance from the ford, he moved quietly over under cover
of darkness. As the companies leaped to the shore they were deployed, the
Seventy-third on the right, and advanced rapidly, driving the enemy's pickets
who were taken completely by surprise, and in their haste to escape dropped
their carbines without firing a shot. Colonel Moore sent a detachment to
Kellysville, but found it deserted. At midnight the Sevent6y-third was ordered
to re-cross the river, and on the 30th re-joining the brigade, moved over with the
corps, crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford, and arrived at the Chancellor
House at midnight. The regiment acted on this march as a guard to the train
of the corps, marching the whole distance as flankers, a very laborious but
thankless duty. During the following day the brigade was marched and counter-marched as rumors of attacks were brought from opposite parts of the field,
desultory firing being kept up during the entire day. The Eleventh Corps
finally took up a position on the right of the army, in front of the turnpike
leading from the Old Wilderness Tavern to Fredericksburg, and commenced
fortifying it. Steinwehr's Division held the left of the Corps, Buschbeck's
Brigade being posted south of the Orange Plank Road, and Barlow's north of
it. On the morning of the 2d four pieces of the Seventh New York Battery,
Dilgers, were posted on a slight eminence in the rear of the rifle-pits occupied
by five companies of the Seventy-third, A, F, D, I and C, the remaining comnpanies being posted in rear, connecting with the Twenty-seventh, placed in division columns. The sound of working parties in the woods in front had been
heard during the previous night, and during the day frequent rumors were
brought that the enemy was moving around to the right; but little heed was
*Organization of the First Brigade, Colonel A. Buschbeck, Second Division, General Von
Steinwehr, Eleventh Corps, General Howard. Twenty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel A. Buschbeck; Seventy-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel
William Moore; Twenty-ninth Regiment, New York Volunteers, Colonel Soest; One Hundred
and FifLy-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteers, Colonel Jones.