On the 12th of June 1863, the 55th Ohio, with the rest of the army, set out on the campaign that would climax with the battle of Gettysburg. Orland Smith's brigade set out from Booke's Station and for the next sixteen days, marched steadily up into Pennsylvania, sending out patrols. Keeping a look out for the rebel army that was snaking its way north.General "Fighting" Joe Hooker was relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac. He was replaced by George G. Meade, previously commander of the 5th Corps. By the 29th of June, the 55th Ohio reached Emmitsburg, Maryland at about 5:00 p.m. after having marched 22 miles that day in mud, rain and wagon choked roads. Col. Orland Smith, in his report of the march from Virginia to Gettysburg stated, that his brigade "… marched fully equipped, with haversacks, knapsacks, &c, carrying three days rations and 60 rounds of ammunition … before half of the distance was accomplished the shoes began to fail, thus leaving many men to march barefooted, sometimes over very rough roads." The brigade, along with the rest of the 11th Corps, encamped around Emmitsburg until summoned to Gettysburg on July 1st.
Sources:
Trials and Triumphs: A Record of the Fifty-Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Hartwell Osborne, 1904, A.C. Clurg & Co., Chicago.
All Brave And True by Dan Munson, 1987.
Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls Of The Brave by Ernest B. Ferguson, 1992