188th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry

Brief History
This regiment was organized at Fortress Monroe, Va., April 1, 1864, from the3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. It mustered out at City Point, Va., December 14, 1865.

For more information on the history of this unit, see:


 * The Civil War Archive section, 188th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 1 November 2012).

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

Field Officers and Staff - See Roster

Company A - Many men were recruited inAllegheny County, Philadelphia County, and Lackawanna County - See Roster

Company B - Many men were recruited in Luzerne County, Philadelphia County, and Dauphin County - See Roster

Company C - Many men were recruited in Philadelphia County and Allegheny County - See Roster

Company D - Many men were recruited across the state of Pennsylvania - See Roster

Company E - Many men were recruited in Philadelphia County and Crawford County - See Roster

Company F - Many men were recruited in Philadelphia County, Dauphin County and Allegheny County - See Roster

Company G - Many men were recruited in Dauphin County and Montour County - See Roster

Company H - Many men were recruited in Philadelphia County, Beaver County, and Allegheny County - See Roster

Company I - Many men were recruited in Dauphin County, and Berks County - See Roster

Company K - Many men were recruited in Allegheny County - See Roster

Unassigned Men - See Roster

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,289 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Regimental History and Roster

 * History of the First Battalion Pennsylvania Six Months Volunteers and the 187th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry; Six Months and Three Years Service, Civil War, 1863-1865; by James M. Gibbs, Publisher [Harrisburg, Pa., Central printing and publishing house], 1905 Online at:Internet Archive

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘Pennsylvania in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Pennsylvania in the Civil War describes many sources, specifically for Pennsylvania, and how to find them. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.
 * Pa-roots gives a history of this regiment and includes rosters for each company. It also lists additionalreferences.


 * Ranger95describes the history of this regiment. It lists rosters for each company.


 * Pennsylvania State Archives lists a roster for each company in the three year service group and lists where each man in the company was recruited.