A History of Company C, 50th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment: From the Camp, the Battlefield and the Prison Pen, 1861-1865

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, sent to the Civil War one soldier for every seven inhabitants. Although this contribution of manpower was not uncommon in other areas, the company that was formed from Schuylkill Haven was as unique for its makeup as for its service. The men who formed Company C, 50th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment were primarily men who worked on or around the Schuylkill Canal and from their ranks came two Medal of Honor recipients.

The men of Company C served in their capacity as far south as Beaufort, South Carolina, and participated in the battles at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania Court House and the siege of Petersburg. Author and Civil War historian J. Stuart Richards has compiled a unique history of Company C, told through the personal letters, surviving narratives and official reports of the men during their service. What follows is a first hand account—including descriptions of the prison at Andersonville—of life, toil and service during the Civil War. Richards calls upon a breadth of archival primary source material, and combines it with an informative narrative to provide an accessible and balanced study of the men from this unique company of soldiers.