77th Pennsylvania Infantry

The 77th Pennsylvania Infantry, part of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 20th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, moved on September 18, 1863, north along the crest of Lookout Mountain to Stevens' Gap and descended into McLemore's Cove in front of the enemy. Early on September 19, it moved rapidly north, passed Crawfish Springs to near the Kelly house, formed in line of battle, then moved eastward, soon struck the enemy, and by severe fighting drove him to this point. About 6:30 p.m., its lines were attacked and a desperate struggle followed, with the enemy closing on the front and both flanks until friend and foe could not be distinguished. In the night battle scene at 8 p.m., General Deshler's and Smith's Confederate brigades attacked the lines of Colonel Dodge's Union brigade, and General Smith and two members of his staff were killed when Smith and his staff rode into the line of the 77th Pennsylvania Infantry. At 9 p.m., overpowered by numbers, all the field officers, seven company officers, and seventy men were taken prisoner. The regiment lost one hundred forty killed, wounded, and missing out of two hundred seventy engaged. Organized on August 1, 1861, and discharged on January 16, 1866, it performed its most important duty here during the night engagement of September 19, 1863, under Colonel Thomas E. Rose.

Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia · United States