At the start of February 1863, the division's three brigades
boarded transports at Belle Plain, Virginia and headed up the
Potomac.* The Reserves were slated to join the newly-formed 22nd
Corps of the Department of Washington, composed of soldiers who
were assigned to the defense of the nation's capital. On
February 7, the Pennsylvanians disembarked at the port of
Alexandria and marched towards their old campgrounds around
Fairfax Seminary. Orders finally came on February 10. (OR,
1:51:1, 985.) Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, commander of the
Department of Washington, directed the First Brigade to proceed
to Fairfax Courthouse. The Second Brigade was ordered to Upton's
Hill, while the Third Brigade was to occupy Minor's Hill.** The
Reserves performed a variety of tasks, from the mundane to the
downright dangerous. |Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, commander of
the Department of Washington and 22nd Corps (courtesy of
Wikimedia Commons).| The experience of the 2nd Pennsylvania
Reserves was typical of the regiments assig