My Great Grand-father was one of the most patriotic persons to have ever graced the planet. His service to his family, his community, and his country were always one of his most cherished assets.

I knew very little about this man since he passed away in 1915, however, when my father passed away in 1987, I found some interesting things among his meager collection of personal effects. These few items that were salted away in my fathers memory, and of course his night stand, would open an entire new world of understanding for me.

Amidst the sorrow of the loss at the death of my father was an oasis of joy caused by what he had left behind contained in a "Whitman Sampler" candy box, wrapped in waxed paper.

Within the well crumpled "cutrite" were concealed 28 letters from my Great Grandfather Francis Mortimer Hills. Letters that he had written to his wife and sons during his service in the American Civil War. Resting along side these letters in the same drawer was a book printed in 1912, by Grit Publishing Company. It was the Regimental History of the Forty-Fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, personally inscribed, in perfect penmenship, F. M.'s very short sysnopsis of his military carrer of 1861 to 1865.

As I began to read this material I became ever more facinated with his past. I also began to note that there was very little in print about the Forty-Fifth as a group, but that they were very prominate in many of the major battles of that time.

Since there is no known pictures of this man in print from this period in his life, since there is this great renewal of interest in the period as a whole, and since I now hold several never before printed documents from that period, I was wanting to share these with other people that hold an interst in preserving this period. To that end I have put this w3 page together hoping that

• I might share some of this with others.
• That I might hear from others with family members that may have served in this unit.
• Complete a book about this great regiment, that has been so wrongly forgotten in the annals of time.

Within the pages included here, you will find many intersting facts about the Forty-Fifth as a regiment, many of the individuals within the regiment, and a great deal of there achievements. I have included many links to the study sites that I have used over the years, many of these sites I had found the hard way, before I ever knew of the "internet" as a resource tool.

There is an indices of all the pages included, and among them

• A listing of links to more than 100 Regimental Re-Enactor groups and Ragimental Histories.
• Links to more than 150 Colleges, Universities, and goverment research facilities.
• Links to more than 150 newspapers across the country and around the world. (many of these have nothing to do with the Civil War, but are very interesting just to see how other countries view the U.S.)
• Sports Links to various NBA, NFL, and NCAA teams around the country. (Even the Chiefs!)
• A page strickly for children as a study and fun guide. All sorts of faciniating links to fun places for learning.
• A page for the ladies to have fun, learn gardening tips, ladies sports teams, and so much more.