One hundred fifty-five years ago on September 24,1862, the 993 officers and men of the 153rd Pennsylvania Voluntary Infantry left Easton to journey to Harrisburg, to fight in the Civil War. Some of the men wrote “In lieu of the draft” on their backpacks to show that they had volunteered and were not drafted. All 993 men were recruited in Northampton County and enlisted for nine months. They saw action in two major battles (Chancellorsville and Gettysburg) and were mustered out of service on July 24, 1863.
In honor of the upcoming anniversary, members of the 153rd re-enactment group will muster at the Sigal Museum from 4:30-8:00 pm on Fourth Friday. Families are invited to visit with the troops, try on uniform jackets and kepi, view the soldiers’ kits, including an original Austrian Lorenz rifle, and learn more about the unit’s history. Children and adults may also “sign up” to join the Union Army after passing a period medical inspection (which was about as basic as it gets – for example: Have you got two teeth?).