The reason that this and some other regiments were designated by three numbers (in this case the 43rd Pennsylvania, 14th Reserves, and 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery) is that some regiments were part of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps.

Sauers writes:
The "Reserve Volunteer Corps of the Commonwealth" was created by one of the legislative acts signed into law by Governor Curtin on May 15, 1861. Curtin was fearful of the possible dire consequences of the shortage in the Pennsylvania militia caused by the mustering of twenty-five Pennsylvania regiments into federal service. Since Pennsyvlania bordered on a state of dubious loyalty, the Governor influenced the Legislature to authorize the raising and equipping, at state expense, of a force to consist of thirteen regiments of infantry, one of cavalry, and one of artillery, for defense of the Commonwealth. The men were to be enrolled for a period of three years, but if needed, the corps would be placed at the disposal of the federal government.

Accordingly, camps were established in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Easton, and West Chester, as the corps would represent all sections of the Commonwealth. Brigadier-General George A. McCall was placed in command of the corps, and it did not take long for the regiments to recruit more than enough men. Although the Reserves were numbered as "line" regiments, they were better known by their more popular "Reserve" designations. The thirteen infantry regiments, numbers 30th through 42nd, were known as the 1st through the 13th Reserves, and thus each regiment had two numbers. For example, the 32nd Pennsylvania was also known as the 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves. The artillery regiment, numbered 43rd, was better known as the 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery, and the cavalry regiment, the 44th, as the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Source:
Sauers, Richard A.; Advance the Colors!: Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags. Vol. 2. Hbg, PA: Capitol Preservation Commission, 1991. pp. 489-91 (3 photocopied pages). E527.4S38.1991v2. (Brief unit history with emphasis on the regimental flags).

The Reserves included thirteen regiments of infantry, divided into three brigades. The Thirteenth Reserves was the celebrated regiment known as the Bucktails, or First Pennsylvania Rifles. In addition to the infantry, two other regiments were organized in connection with the division,--the First Pennsylvania Cavalry and the First Pennsylvania Light Artillery- but after a few months they were detached, and the division proper included only the three brigades of infantry. The Reserves were prominently engaged at Dranesville, Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill, Charles City Cross Roads (Glendale), Manassas, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and in the Wilderness campaign. At Fredericksburg the division made a gallant fight, the losses being unusually severe in proportion to the number engaged. The division was commanded in turn by Generals McCall, Reynolds, Meade, and Crawford. It was attached, originally, to the First (McDowell's) Corps, but while on the Peninsula it served in the Fifth Corps. At Manassas, Antietam, and Fredericksburg, it was again in the First Corps. After Fredericksburg it was ordered to Washington to rest and recruit its shattered regiments, but it rejoined the Army on the Gettysburg campaign, when it was assigned to the Fifth Corps, in which it remained until mustered out.

The casualties in this division do not amount to the heroic aggregate shown by some other divisions, but the percentage of loss was heavy; the regiments became reduced in numbers, received but few recruits, and did not re-enlist. Governor Curtin requested the War Department to furlough the regiments,--a few at a time--promising that the State of Pennsylvania would return them to the field with full ranks; but the Government refused. Many of the men, however, reenlisted, and when the division returned home at the expiration of its three years, these reenlisted veterans, together with the recruits, were organized into two regiments,--the One Hundred and Ninetieth and One Hundred and Ninety-first Pennsylvania--which served until the war ended. The battle of Bethesda Church, June 1, 1864, was the last action in which the Reserves, as a division, were engaged.

Two of the Reserve regiments served in West Virginia during the early part of 1864, distinguishing themselves at the battle of Cloyd's Mountain. The eleven remaining regiments were formed into two brigades, constituting Crawford's (3d) Division, Fifth Corps.

Last Updated 15 July 1999

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