Bucktails Civil War Regiment

	PHOTOS
		Bucktail 1 Bucktail 2 Bucktail 3 Camp 1 Camp 2 Canon Memorial Day Parade Reunion Rifles
	RELATED LINKS
		Bucktail Resolution Bucktail Web Site Offers extensive list of official archives/articles about the Bucktails Pennsylvania in the Civil War Novels about the Bucktails written by William Robertson

The 42nd Pennsylvania Infantry was also known as the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves, as well as the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles. However, that was only their official name. Their popular name that has gone down in history is the “Bucktails.”

They began life in front of the McKean County Courthouse in Smethport on April 24, 1861, where they attached tails of deer to their hats, which gave the regiment its famous name.

After an adventurous trip by foot through the primeval forests, and by raft down the swift Susquehanna River to Harrisburg, they soon found glory in most battles of the Civil War.

The fierceness of their fighting prowess, excellent sharp shooting skills, and tenacity in battle soon propelled the Bucktails into one of the most respected regiments by both the Union and Confederate Armies.

The original Bucktails live on today through relatives and others who are known as the Bucktail Reenactors Group. This group is active in demonstrating the ways of the original Bucktails as historically accurate as possible at local events, yearly reunions, and battle reenactments in early July at Gettysburg, where the original regiment during the three bloody days of July 1-3, 1863, played a pivotal role that defeated the advance of the Confederates into Pennsylvania, and turned the tide of war toward the north and spelled the beginning of the end for the Confederate Rebellion.