The 149th Bucktails guarded the Orange & Alexandria Railroad after the Battle of Gettysburg to rest and refit. Their ranks were replenished with soldiers from the first national draft.
On May 4, 1864, the 149th bivouacked for the night near the Wilderness Tavern. The next two days they battled the Rebels in the thick woods between the Orange Turnpike and the Orange Plank Road.
Bucktail reenactors recreate the fighting in the Wilderness.
Mason Smith portrays a young Rebel soldier.
The 149th made three unsuccessful attacks on Laurel Hill near Spotsylvania Court House. Pictured above is the 5th New Jersey Regiment's monument that stands as a grim reminder of the sacrifice made by
The 149th were entrenched beside the 42nd PA Volunteers at the Battle of Bethesda Church. Clarence Walker portrays a sergeant in the original Bucktails.
Petersburg was another bloody campaign that the 149th participated in.
The 149 guarded Union draftees at the Elmira Prison Camp. These conscripts proved more dangerous than the Rebel prisoners.
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Reenactor Samantha Samick models a Civil War funeral dress that could have been worn by Mrs. Cole.