The 159th New York Infantry Regiment 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

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

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 ...

Service

The 159th New York Infantry was organized at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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beginning August 28, 1862 and mustered in for three-years service on November 1, 1862 under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Homer Augustus Nelson Homer Augustus Nelson (August 31, 1829 – April 25, 1891) was an American politician and soldier from the state of New York. He served one term in the U.S. House of Representative and was an officer in the Union Army during the first part ...

. The regiment was attached to Grover's Division,

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was cons ...

, to January 1863. 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to August 1863. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, XIX Corps, to February 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to July 1864, and Army of the Shenandoah, Middle Military Division, to January 1865. 2nd Brigade, Grover's Division, District of Savannah, Georgia,

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, to March 1865. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division,

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, to May 1865. District of Savannah, Georgia, Department of the South, to July 1865. District of Augusta, Georgia, Department of Georgia, to October 1865. The 159th New York Infantry mustered out of service October 23, 1865 at

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

Detailed service

Left New York for New Orleans, Louisiana, December 4, 1862. Occupation of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 17, 1862, and duty there until March 1863. Operations against Port Hudson, Louisiana, March 7–27. Moved to Donaldsonville March 28, then to Berwick April 9. Operations in Western Louisiana April 9 – May 14. Expedition to Franklin and Opelousas, Bayou Teche Campaign, April 11–20. Irish Bend April 14. Bayou Vermillion April 17. Opelousas April 20. Expedition to Alexandria and Simsport May 5–18. Moved to Port Hudson May 22–25. Siege of Port Hudson May 25 – July 9. Assaults on Port Hudson May 27 and June 14. Surrender of Port Hudson July 9. Duty at Thibodeauxville until March 1864. Red River Campaign March 25 – May 22. Cane River Crossing April 23. Construction of dam at Alexandria April 30-May 10. Retreat to Morganza May 13–20. Mansura May 16. Duty at Morganza until July. Moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, then to Fort Monroe and Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, July 17–25. Duty in trenches at Bermuda Hundred until July 31. Moved to Washington, D.C., July 31 – August 2. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August 7 – November 28. Near Charlestown August 21–22. Third Battle of Winchester September 19. Fisher's Hill September 22. Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Duty at Kernstown and Winchester until January 1865. Moved to Savannah, Georgia, January 5–22, and duty there until March 5. Moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, March 5; then to Morehead City, North Carolina, March 10, and duty there until April 8. Moved to Goldsboro, North Carolina, April 8; then to Savannah, Georgia, May 2. Duty there and in the Department of Georgia until October.Tiemann, William Francis
''The 159th Regiment Infantry: New York State Volunteers, In the War of the Rebellion, 1862-1865''
Brooklyn, 1891. 159th New York Volunteer Infantry at Donaldsonville, Louisiana

159th New York Volunteer Infantry at Donaldsonville, Louisiana

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 215 men during service; 10 officers and 74 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 130 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Homer A. Nelson * Colonel Edward L. Molineaux

References

External links

National flag of the 159th New York Infantry

Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Infantry 159