Pennsylvania First Defenders

Item GAR-8691

Description

Pennsylvania First Defenders reunion ribbon - April 16, 1896, Baltimore, MD.

"First Defenders" (the first five companies of men who responded to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers to defend the nation's capital following the Fall of Fort Sumter to Confederate States Army troops in mid-April 1861).

These "First Defenders" were assigned to the regiment's various units as follows:
• Company A: Ringgold Light Artillery (Reading)
• Company D: Logan Guard (Lewiston)
• Company E: Washington Artillery (Pottsville)
• Company G: National Light Infantry (Pottsville)
• Company H: Allen Rifles (Allentown).