Philip Petty

The Soldier Who Saved His Regiment's Colors

Philip Petty was an English-born Union Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient whose courage at the Battle of Fredericksburg became one of the defining achievements of his military career. Serving with Company A of the 136th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, he stepped forward to recover his regiment's fallen colors during heavy fighting on December 13, 1862. He carried the flag through the advance and brought it safely from the battlefield when the regiment was forced to retreat. His actions earned him promotion to Color Sergeant and, more than thirty years later, the United States Medal of Honor.

Petty was born in May 1840 in Tingewick, Buckinghamshire, England. Historical sources disagree on the precise day of his birth. In a surviving autobiographical account, Petty gave May 17, 1840, while a family Bible recorded May 15. Both records identify Tingewick as his birthplace.

At the age of eighteen, Petty left England for the United States. According to his own recollections, he arrived in New York in August 1858 and settled in Jackson Township, Tioga County, Pennsylvania.

When the American Civil War began in 1861, Petty was living in Pennsylvania. On August 1 of that year, he enlisted in the Troy Guards, which became Company C of the 12th Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry.

His unit was equipped at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg before proceeding to the Washington, D.C., area. Petty later recalled performing picket duty, helping construct fortifications, and guarding the Chain Bridge near Georgetown.

His first period of military service was interrupted by serious illness.

While stationed near Washington, Petty contracted typhoid fever. The illness left him severely weakened and required hospitalization. In his memoir, he described the difficulties of recovering while his regiment continued its movements and duties.

Although he eventually returned to his company, his health remained poor.

Petty recalled participating in the movement toward Dranesville, Virginia, on December 20, 1861. Still weakened by illness, he struggled physically after the engagement and required assistance returning to camp.

His condition did not sufficiently improve to permit continued military service. On March 17, 1862, he received a discharge for disability near Alexandria, Virginia.

Petty returned to Pennsylvania and spent the following months recovering.

In August 1862, President Abraham Lincoln's call for additional volunteers provided Petty with another opportunity to enter the Union Army. Despite lingering physical weakness, he sought reenlistment.

On August 9, 1862, he enlisted as a musician in Company A of the 136th Pennsylvania Infantry, a regiment organized for nine months of service.

According to his recollections, medical examiners initially rejected him twice because of his physical condition. On his third examination, he was accepted.

Although he had enlisted as a musician, Petty soon exchanged his fife for another soldier's rifle. The arrangement allowed him to serve as an infantryman rather than continue in a musical role.

His previous military experience also became known to the company's officers, who began assigning him additional responsibilities.

The 136th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Harrisburg under Colonel Thomas M. Bayne. It subsequently joined the Army of the Potomac, serving in the I Corps.

During the autumn of 1862, the regiment performed duty in Maryland and Virginia before moving toward Fredericksburg, where Union forces under Major General Ambrose E. Burnside were preparing to attack General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

By December, Petty's regiment was encamped near the Rappahannock River.

On December 13, 1862, the 136th Pennsylvania entered the Battle of Fredericksburg as part of Brigadier General John Gibbon's division. Its attack took place south of the town, in the area near Prospect Hill that later became known as Slaughter Pen Farm.

The regiment advanced across difficult ground toward Confederate positions defended by troops under Lieutenant General Thomas J. Jackson.

Petty later described moving forward through tall grass when Confederate infantry suddenly rose and fired into the Union ranks.

The Pennsylvania soldiers returned fire, alternately advancing, lying down, reloading, and firing as they moved toward the railroad embankment.

The fighting was severe, and casualties mounted as the regiment pressed forward.

During the engagement, the regimental colors fell from the hands of their bearer.

The official Medal of Honor citation states that the color bearer had been wounded. Petty's own account likewise described the bearer as wounded, although another surviving statement attributed to Colonel Bayne described the colors as having been abandoned.

The regiment's commanding officer called for a volunteer to recover the fallen flag.

Petty stepped forward.

Taking possession of the colors, he carried them into the continuing advance while enemy fire threatened the Union formation.

The flag was an important battlefield marker. It represented the regiment and helped soldiers identify their unit's position amid smoke, confusion, and rapidly changing lines of battle.

By recovering and advancing with the colors, Petty ensured that the regiment's standard remained visible during a critical phase of the fighting.

The Union advance eventually encountered a Confederate movement against its flank, and the soldiers were ordered to withdraw.

Petty now faced the difficulty of carrying both his rifle and the regimental flag during the retreat.

In his recollections, he described planting the flagstaff in the ground and continuing to fire at the Confederate soldiers. He later counted thirty-two cartridges expended during the engagement.

Before leaving the position, Petty damaged his rifle by striking it against the railroad rails. He then recovered the colors and carried them safely from the battlefield.

His actions drew immediate recognition from his regiment.

Petty recalled that, on the following morning, Colonel Bayne addressed the soldiers and publicly praised his conduct during the battle.

The regiment responded with three cheers, and Petty was promoted to Color Sergeant.

This promotion reflected the responsibility and distinction associated with carrying and protecting the regiment's colors.

The Battle of Fredericksburg ultimately ended in a Confederate victory. Although Union forces achieved temporary advances in the southern sector, Confederate counterattacks forced them to withdraw, and the larger Federal offensive failed.

Petty's courage nevertheless became a lasting part of the history of the 136th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Following Fredericksburg, the regiment continued serving with the Army of the Potomac. Its documented operations included the unsuccessful Mud March in January 1863 and the Chancellorsville Campaign in the spring.

Petty's own memoir confirms his participation in the Mud March and his continued service through the Chancellorsville period.

On May 29, 1863, the 136th Pennsylvania Infantry completed its nine-month term of service and was mustered out at Harrisburg.

Petty recalled that Colonel Bayne had considered obtaining a commission for him but had been unable to complete the arrangement during active service. Bayne offered to help him pursue a commission if he reenlisted.

Petty declined, choosing instead to return home with the men of his regiment.

In a written endorsement dated May 31, 1863, Colonel Bayne praised Petty's conduct and specifically acknowledged his courage in recovering the colors at Fredericksburg.

This commendation preserved contemporary recognition of the achievement for which Petty would later receive the Medal of Honor.

After leaving the army, Petty returned to civilian life in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.

On May 15, 1864, he married Mary Ann Sisson in Jackson Township. The couple had four children: Howard, Curtis, Bernittie, and Rosamond.

Petty remained closely connected with the local community in northern Pennsylvania. Later accounts identify him as a horse breeder in Daggett, while family records and newspaper notices document his continuing involvement in veterans' organizations.

He belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union Civil War veterans, and was associated with Deming Post No. 476. He was also a member of the Medal of Honor Legion and a local fraternal lodge.

More than thirty years after his battlefield action, Petty received the nation's highest military decoration.

On August 21, 1893, Philip Petty was awarded the Medal of Honor for his conduct at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862.

His official citation recognized his action in recovering the colors after the color bearer was wounded and carrying them forward during the charge.

The decoration formally acknowledged the courage that his commanding officer and fellow soldiers had recognized immediately after the battle.

Petty lived for more than two decades after receiving the Medal of Honor. His surviving personal recollections provide valuable insight into his experiences as an immigrant, volunteer soldier, survivor of serious illness, and participant in one of the Civil War's major battles.

Philip Petty died on December 22, 1917, at his home in Daggett, Pennsylvania, following an illness. He was seventy-seven years old.

He was buried at Daggett Cemetery in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.

His obituary remembered his Civil War service, Medal of Honor, and involvement in veterans' and community organizations.

Philip Petty's legacy is preserved not only by his official military decoration but also by his own account of the moment he stepped forward at Fredericksburg. Having already endured serious illness and returned voluntarily to military service, he carried his regiment's colors under enemy fire and brought them safely from the field.

His courage on December 13, 1862, earned him promotion to Color Sergeant and a permanent place among the Medal of Honor recipients of the American Civil War.