Archival holdings about the 91st Pennsylvania

Brief list of National Archives records

The National Archives has literally thousands of pages relating to the 91st PA. They have six "regimental books" (about 200 pages each) and five archives boxes (500 to 1000 pages) specifically relating to the 91st. I have a copy of four regimental books, and part of one other.

• Pension indexes, by name and by regiment
• widow's pension certificate files (very incomplete)

Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917

• regimental letter, order, furlough, and guard report book
• order book, companies A-K, except D [I have company E only]
• morning reports, companies A, C, G
• descriptive books, companies A-E
• descriptive books, companies F-K
• regimental descriptive book and consolidated morning reports
• five archives boxes of muster rolls, returns, and regimental papers (500-1000 pages each; unfortunately, the National Archives will not copy them)
• Index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations form the State of Pennsylvania, microfilm series 554 (on-line index provided by the National Park Service and Ancestry)
• other records, not from NARA
  • monthly return, co. B, May 1864 (thanks to Don Zierer for providing a copy to me!)
  • monthly return, co.K, April 1864 (thanks to Dennis Clowney for providing a copy to me!)
  • monthly return, co. K, June 1865 (thanks to Don Zierer for providing a copy to me!)
  • abstract of expenditures, 2nd quarter 1865, company G (thanks to Don Zierer for providing a copy to me!)

Record Group 21

• bankruptcy file, Edgar M Gregory, National Archives (Mid Atlantic Region), Record Group 21, US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, case #1042, 1869

Record Group 105

These letters sent by the Assistant Commissioner for Texas of the Bureau of Freedmen, Refugees, and Abandoned Lands, include letters written by Edgar Gregory.

Record Group 153 (Judge Advocate General, Army)

These records include court-martial files (for field and general courts martial).

More detailed listing of National Archives records

census

• census records

regimental letter, order, guard report, and furlough book

The earliest records in this are from June 1863. The 91st's headquarters wagon was captured in November 1862, with all their records. I do not know what happened to the records from then until June 1863. Tayman's request for information about commissioned officers on 18 August 1863 may suggest all regimental records were lost shortly before that.

• regimental letters, June 1863-July 1865 [completed]
• regimental orders, June 1863-July 1865 [completed]
• guard reports, 17 March 1864-30 April 1864 (preliminary transcription)
• letters and orders received, June-December 1863 [completed]
• untitled list of officers' furloughs, October 1864-June 1865 [completed]
• list of enlisted men who received furloughs, October 1864-June 1865 [completed]
• undated list of men detailed away from regiment [completed]
• untitled list of some officers' names with P, C, F, or blank in columns to the right [completed]
• bi-monthly report of enlisted men discharged for disability [lists only 1 man, discharged 1 August 1864] [completed]

order book, companies A-K, except D

• Company E (film supplied by Dennis Clowney) [completed]

descriptive books, companies A-E

• Company A [finished]
• • Register of men transferred [1 manuscript page]
  • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men discharged [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of men paroled [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deserters [1 manuscript page]
  • Descriptive roll [187 entries; 38 manuscript pages]
  • one page that is illegibly light on my microfilm copy; it may list men who owe money for lost property (as in company B)
• Company B, first descriptive book [finished]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Descriptive roll [5 manuscript pages, entries 1-43]
  • Descriptive roll [8 manuscript pages, numbers 1-74]
  • [men who owed the government for lost equipment]
• Company B, second descriptive book [finished]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of men discharged [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deserters [1 blank manuscript page]
  • Descriptive roll [26 manuscript pages, entries 1-112]
• Company C [finished]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of men transferred [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men discharged [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deserters [1 manuscript page]
  • Descriptive roll [189 entries, 19 manuscript pages]
  • four manuscript pages, perhaps listing status when the regiment mustered out
• Company D [finished]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of men transferred [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of men discharged [3 manuscript pages]
  • Register of deaths [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of deserters [3 manuscript pages]
  • Descriptive roll 1 [6 manuscript pages, 39 entries]
  • Descriptive roll 2 [11 manuscript pages, 110 entries]
• Company E (film supplied by Dennis Clowney) [completed]
• • List of Commissioned Officers
  • List of Non-Commissioned Officers
  • Register of Men Transferred
  • Register of Men Discharged
  • Register of Deaths
  • Register of Deserters
  • Descriptive Roll of Company E

company F-K descriptive books

• Company F [completed]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men transferred [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men discharged [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deserters [1 manuscript page]
  • First descriptive roll [12 manuscript pages, 114 entries]
  • Second descriptive roll [5 manuscript pages, 47 entries]
• Company G [completed]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men transferred [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men discharged [3 manuscript pages]
  • Register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deserters [1 manuscript page]
  • Descriptive roll [10 manuscript pages, 100 entries]
  • Second descriptive roll [5 manuscript pages]
• Company H [completed]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of men transferred [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of men discharged [2 manuscript pages]
  • Register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deserters [1 manuscript page]
  • Descriptive roll [20 manuscript pages, 194 entries]
• Company I [completed]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men transferred [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men discharged [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deserters [1 manuscript page]
  • Descriptive roll [12 manuscript pages, 116 entries]
• Company K [completed]
• • List of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • List of non-commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men transferred [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of men discharged [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Register of deserters [1 manuscript page]
  • First descriptive roll [17 manuscript pages, 93 entries]
  • Second descriptive roll [1 manuscript page, 11 entries]
  • Third descriptive roll [11 manuscript pages, 108 entries]
  • Second list of commissioned officers [1 manuscript page]
  • Second list of non-commissioned officers [2 manuscript pages]
  • Second list of men discharged [1 manuscript page]
  • Second register of deaths [1 manuscript page]
  • Second list of deserters [1 manuscript page]
  • Fourth descriptive roll [24 manuscript pages, 87? entries]

regimental descriptive book and consolidated morning reports

• regimental descriptive book (lists officers) [completed]
• consolidated morning reports [list of extant reports], 7 February 1863 to 9 July 1865 with many gaps (very incomplete transcription)

court-martial files

(This list is derived from the National Archives Archival Research Catalog, which lists 63 courts martial (accessed 24 July 2010). I have included links to transcriptions of the files I have obtained.)

(See also courts martial of Jesse Wharton and Charles Lynde.)

(Click on a column heading to sort the table by that column.)

name	rank	company	year and month	note
Brosse Louis	private	I	1864 05	transcription
Buckley, Harry	private	I	1864 06
Callahan, John	private	I	1862 08
McDermot, Robert	private	K	1863 03
Boyer, J M	corporal	K	1864 04
Gorman, W H	private	E	1862 06	[no other source]
Comog, Thomas	private	I	1865 06	[actually in I 51 PA]
Wooden, Robert	private	E	1865 01
Walmsley, William [presumably William Warnsley]	private	I	1864 11	[no other source]
Burkett, Charles	private	H	1863 12
Hood, James	private	H	1863 12
Baker, D B	lieutenant	E	1863 01	transcription [two trials, with the related trial of James B Bonsall 126th PA]
Blum, John	private	K	1865 01
Baker, D B	sergeant	E	1863 01	transcription [two trials, with the related trial of James B Bonsall 126th PA]
Kotchland, Nathan	private	A	1863 01	transcription (and 2nd court martial)
McCarty, Dennis	private	E	1864 09
Galligan, John E	private	D	1863 03	[can't identify] [ARIAS has a John Galligan G 48th Inf 3 Mar 62 to 17 Jul 65; the Footnote index to the Pension index by unit cards has two John Galligan's: one served in E 25 Michigan Infantry and successfully applied for a pension on 15 Aug 1890 (also served I 2 Mich cav, H 44 Ill Inf, B 5 VRC, unassd det 2 Batt VRC, 155 Co 2 Battn VRC), and the other in E 37 NJ Inf, who successfully applied for a pension on 22 October 1890, died on 9 May 1914 at Orange NJ, and whose widow successfully on 20 May 1914. This is presumably Michael Gallagher]
Gallagher, Michael	private	D	1863 03	[see order promulgating sentence (court-martial file LL 231)]
Neide, Charles H	private	D	1863 03	[no other source]
Clough, Franklin L	private	A	1862 10	transcription
Boyd, Robert	sergeant	F	1863 02
Crouse, George J	private	K	1863 08
Leidheiser, D G	private	K	1863 08
McCoy, John	private	D	1863 08
Findley, James A	private	F	1862 01	[can't identify] [ARIAS has a James Findley M 18th Cav 7 Nov 62 to ?; and James Findley F 3 Mil Inf 11 to 24 Sep 62; the index to the compiled service records has James A Findley, co. F, 208 PA Infantry--cross-reference to James A Finley (co. F, pvt, pvt)]
Kayser, Morris	lieutenant	B	1863 07	transcription
Neide, Charles H	private	D	1865 05	[no other source]
Selser, Louis	private	A	1865 01	[no other source]
Knecht, John J	private	A	1864 09
Mann, John	private	H	1862 08	transcription
Donohue, Frank P [sc. Frank P Donahue]	corporal	E	1865 01
Lachlin, William (alias James Howard)	private	I	1864 08	transcription
Rhoades, F E	private	A	1864 08	[no other source]
Hoffman, William	private	A	1865 03	[no other source]
Green, John W	private	E	1864 11	transcription
Goodman, George	private	F	1865 01	[can't identify] [ARIAS has several George Goodman's, none in the 91st or in any co.F; the index to the compiled service record also has no George Goodman in the 91st or in any Pennsylvania regiment in company B (but has 11 PA cards)]
Stewart, James	private	F	1864 04
Lowery, Charles	private	C	1863 12	[no other source]
McCoy, John	private	D	1863 08
Tayman, B J	lieutenant	f&S	1863 05	transcription
Clough, Franklin G	private	A	1863 10
Gallagher, Patrick	private	B	1862 05 01	transcription
Tomlin, Isiah	private	C	1865 02	[no other source]
Stewart, James	private	F	1865 01	[no other source]
Adams, William	private	D	1863 12	[no other source]
Bowman, Alphens [sic] H	captain	B	1862 08	transcription
Brewster, E Carroll	lieutenant	F	1862 08	transcription
Blum, John	private	K	1865 01
Swire, Elias	sergeant	B	1862 05	transcription
Hammeritle [sic], M [sc. John Hamill]	lieutenant	D	1864 11	transcription
Walter, Thomas F	lieutenant	A	1865 01	transcription
Robinson, John	private	E	1865 01
Collins, John	private	D	1865 01
Bergin, Michael	private	E	1864 09
Knecht, John J	private	A	1864 07
Groff, John	private	K	1863 03	no other source; transcription
Groff, Diller B	private	K	1863 03	[error in the NARA Archival Research Catalog, according to a letter I received, dated 13 January 2011; file LL-214 is about Captain Diller B Groff, 104th PA Infantry; file LL-231 is about John Groff in the 91st]
Aldredge, William	private	H	1865 01	[no other source]
Gore, Joseph R	private	A	1864 12	[can't identify] [ARIAS has no Joseph Gore; index to compiled service record has no Joseph Gore in PA]
Garrity, Edward [probably John Garrity]	private	E	1864 01
Mootheart, John A	private	B	1862 05	[no other source]
Dougherty, James	private	D	1862 08
Keen, Joseph	teamster	B	1862 04 27	transcription
Gilbert, John	captain	C	1865 03	transcription

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

• muster-out rolls

Some Historical Society of Pennsylvania records

See http://www.hsp.org/collections/guides/cwmss.html. I do not have copies of any of these records.

• Andrew Brown (C). Letterbook 1862-1864. (Collection number 82.)
• Cyrus Cartledge (E). Civil War letters and discharge papers pertaining to Cartledge, Joseph Wallens, and Walter H Miller Doc Box 15
• John L Smith. Papers 1862-1865: book of mimeographed/carbon-copied letters, miscellaneous, loose original letters; and diaries. (transferred from 118th PA)