The Last Campaign of the Twenty-Second Regiment, N.G., S.N.Y. June and July, 1863

A citizen-soldier’s chronicle brings the frantic summer of 1863 to life, as New York’s Twenty‑second Regiment answers the President’s call after the Confederate thrust into Pennsylvania. The narrative captures the electric bustle of streets filled with hastily assembled blue and gray uniforms, the roar of departing cattle‑cars, and the warm, patriotic welcome in Philadelphia that makes the journey feel both urgent and communal.

The story then settles into the stark reality of Camp Curtin, where the regiment confronts a sea of weary volunteers and a relentless rainstorm that forces them into a leaky barn. In cramped, sodden confines they share jokes, grudging admiration, and the uneasy certainty that the hardships they face now are only a prelude to what lies ahead. The vivid details of daily life, camaraderie, and the raw atmosphere of early war mobilization make this a compelling portrait of ordinary men thrust into extraordinary times.