The 12th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

in the

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army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It was formed on June 14, 1861, in Boston, Massachusetts. Its original commander was Colonel (United States), Colonel Fletcher Webster, son of the famed U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Daniel Webster. The unit was known as the "Webster Regiment" after its first colonel.Bowen, 219.

Organization and early duty

Col. Webster began recruiting in April 1861 shortly after the attack on Battle of Fort Sumter, Fort Sumter. At that time, most recruits in Massachusetts were used to fill up the ranks in the existing state militia regiments, therefore it was several weeks before Webster had managed to recruit a full regiment. The unit was trained at Fort Warren (Massachusetts), Fort Warren in Boston harbor. On July 19, 1861, the regiment was reviewed by Governor John Albion Andrew on Boston Common and presented with its War flag, colors. On July 23, the 12th Massachusetts departed Boston for the war front. The regimental surgeon was Jedediah Hyde Baxter, son of United States House of Representatives, Congressman Portus Baxter. J. H. Baxter later served as Surgeon General of the United States Army. The regiment was first assigned to the Union Army of the Shenandoah, Army of the Shenandoah under the command of Major General (United States), Major General Nathaniel P. Banks. Until the spring of 1862, the regiment was employed in uneventful Picket (military), picket duty in the vicinity of Frederick, Maryland.Bowen, 222. In late February, the 12th Massachusetts, as part of Brigadier General (United States), Brigadier General John Joseph Abercrombie, John Abercrombie's brigade, moved into Virginia. On April 18, 1862, while on picket duty along the Rappahannock River the men of the 12th Massachusetts exchanged sporadic fire with Confederate States Army, Confederates on the other side of the river. This was the first time the unit was engaged in hostile fire. At the Battle of Antietam, the regiment lost 67% of its strength, or 224 of 334 men. It was the highest percentage casualty rate of any Union regiment in the battle.

Notable members

* Colonel Fletcher Webster—son of Congressman Daniel Webster. * Private John Edward Gilman, Company E - List of Grand Army of the Republic Commanders-in-Chief, 40th Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1910-1911 File:DFWebster.jpg, Colonel Fletcher Webster File:The Photographic History of The Civil War Volume 10 Page 029.jpg, John Gilman is in left handed picture in the center row

Notes

References

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External links

* {{Internet Archive, 07094896.3195.emory.edu, History of the Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteers (Webster regiment) (1882) Units and formations of the Union Army from Massachusetts Military units and formations disestablished in 1864 Military units and formations established in 1861

Organization and early duty

Notable members

See also

Notes

References

External links