The following letter was written by George Weaver who mustered into Co. C (the “Hanna Guards”), 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry on 1 August 1861. He was promoted to 1st Sergeant on 2 March 1862 and then received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant on 16 June 1862. In February 1863 he was elevated to captain of his company.

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Camp near Yorktown, Va.
April 13th, 1862

Lt. Col. A. S. M. Morgan

Sir, being on picket on April 11th after the skirmish, I was with part of Co. C along the fence until late in the evening, Capt. [Jason R.] Hanna called me to the road and told me that I was wanted to go along with a company of the 2d Michigan Regt. and assist them to post their pickets. Capt. Hanna then referred me to you for instructions which you gave me in this manner. You told me to “proceed up the road as far as the middle fence between the woods and peach orchard and file left and post the men along the fence until I come opposite to our old line of outposts and then incline to left so as to connect with our pickets on the left in some low cedars.”

I started with the company and done as I was told but the men run out before we reached the cedars and the captain and myself went on to the cedars. While we was walking over to cedars, we heard coughing and the captain asked me what that was. “Coughing,” I told him. It was our pickets on the left. We then started back and the captain told one of his officers to straighten up the line a little while he went back to the reserve after some more men.

— George Weaver, O. S., Co. C, 63rd Penn. Vols.