...a very fine picture, a valuable souvenir of the occasion...

Eleventh Regiment P.R.V.C. Third Reunion at Brookville, Pa., September 22d, 1885. Oversize albumen. Brookville, Pennsylvania: [E.C. Hall?], 1885. 17 x 14 in.

A splendid veteran reunion outdoor photograph of the veterans of the 11th Pennsylvania Reserve Corps. Held in September 1885, the arrangements were made by veterans of Company K, who were residents of Brookville. The entire gathering welcomed 127 surviving veterans from all over the state and points beyond. 

A contemporary news article describes this specific outdoor gathering and, remarkably, the photograph itself: "At 1:30 the regiment was formed in front of the courthouse, E.R. Brady Post, G.A.R., forming an escort and occupying a position on the right of the line, the Citizens' Cornet Band taking the head of the column. Col. S.M. Jackson had charge of the column, Dr. W.G. Bishop and N.G. Pinney acting as aids. After the formation was made, a photograph of the group was taken by Mr. E.C. Hall, who secured a very fine picture, a valuable souvenir of the occasion." (Brookville Republican, 30 September 1885, p. 2). 

The 11th Pennsylvania Reserves was an incredibly hard-fought and heroic regiment. Originally organized at the outset of war in early 1861, the War Department actually refused them as Pennsylvania was already in excess of its quota. Governor Curtin decided that it would be equipped and trained at the state's expense. The War Department quickly reversed its decision and gave it the designation of the 40th Pennsylvania Infantry; however, the men preferred its original name and continued to operate as the "Pennsylvania Reserves." 
 

1862 brought heavy action to the regiment. It fought throughout the Peninsula Campaign, Second Bull Run (fighting the 5th Texas Infantry), South Mountain (battling at Turner's Gap), Antietam, and Fredericksburg (engaged in an artillery duel). It fought at Gettysburg, defending Little Round Top and engaging in heavy skirmishing. The battle-hardened troops joined Grant's Overland Campaign in 1864, resuming their path of glory, fighting at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House before mustering out on 13 June 1864, with veterans transferred to the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry. 

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