A Small Company of Faithful Ones

They were not soldiers. They were farmers, laborers, teachers, lawyers, and tradesmen. Even a dentist could be counted among the ranks. In the spring of 1861, one hundred thirteen men from Chester County, Pennsylvania, calling themselves the Brandywine Guards, organized in West Chester to fight for the Union during the Civil War. As Company A, 1st Pennsylvania Reserves, these young men proved their mettle in some of the most horrific battles of the war- Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness, to name a few. Though forever linked to one another through the shared experience of war, when the dust settled, the lives they each created for themselves were many and varied. Follow this small company of faithful ones through the hardships of war and learn about the men they each became, the families they raised, and the many legacies they left behind.This is not the retelling of the Civil War, nor is it a military history- although there are elements of both. It is a very personal history. It is a story that reveals what the ordinary person is capable of when the human body and spirit are pushed to the limit and beyond. After one hundred fifty years, the Brandywine Guards are reunited once more.