Libertytown

Libertytown. Hot, Humid, and Worn Out. , In late June 1863, the worn-out soldiers of the Army of the Potomac's II Corps began marching northeast from Frederick on the road to Libertytown. The men perspired as the sun rose, and the heat caused "the salty liquid to get into the eyes, causing them to burn and smart, and it ran from down under the cap, through the dust and down the sides of the face which was soon covered with muddy streaks, the result of repeated wipings upon the sleeves of the blouse.", Gen. John Gibbons, commanding the corps' Second Division, was a tough regular army officer, but realized that his volunteers were faltering. The 19th Massachusetts Infantry had a glee club, and Gibbons wanted it to sing rousing morale-raising songs. Col. Arthur F. Devereux ordered his singers to the front, where they broke into a stirring marching song. "The effect was magical," remembered one Bay Stater. Although they hoped to camp (bivouac) in Libertytown some reinvigorated soldiers marched almost 40 miles that day, finally halting in Uniontown that night., Gibbon's division was heavily engaged at Gettysburg on July 2-3, suffering 1,651 casualties. The 19th Massachusetts lost 77 killed, wounded and missing, likely including several members of the glee club that sang so lustily on that hot June day., Captions , "A Yankee volunteer" by Edwin Forbes Courtesy Library of Congress, "Going into bivouac at night" by Edwin Forbes Courtesy Library of Congress, Map Position of the Union Army of the Potomac June 29, 1873 (midday). New Union Commander George G. Meade orders his army north with two objectives: Engage the Confederate army under the best possible conditions while protecting Washington, D.C. Learning that the Union army was close and getting closer, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee orders his army to consolidate somewhere near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border.