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civil war
March 09, 2011
At the outbreak of the Civil War, President Lincoln called on the Governor for the detachment of one regiment and Delaware had no common or enrolled militia, only volunteers. Governor Burton, the neutralist governor of a border state, correctly but misleadingly replied to the President that he had no militia. He recommended the formation of additional volunteer companies under state law. Volunteers could now offer their services to fill the state's quota of troops.
One Wilmington volunteer company, the National Guards (198 Artillery) was so anxious for action they didn't wait for the formation of a Delaware unit but volunteered for service with the 24th Pennsylvania Regiment which was ready to leave for the front.
Other volunteer units reestablished the State's regiment - the First Delaware. Honors won by the regiment are proudly carried on their organizational colors.
At Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the regiment was cited in official reports for its outstanding performance. Three days into the Battle of Gettysburg the Delawares took the full fury of Confederate Generals Pickett and Pettigrew. Much of the credit belongs to the Delaware regiment for bringing Pickett to a halt at the "high water mark of the Confederacy."
The regiment went through the Wilderness campaign, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg. When their three year enlistments expired the two regiments combined into the First Delaware Veteran Volunteer Regiment made up of men who reenlisted "for the duration".