The 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served from the State of
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 ...
from 1861–1864. A part of the
II Corps of the
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...
, the regiment was engaged in many battles from Ball's Bluff to Petersburg, and suffered the tenth highest fatality rate amongst Federal regiments. The regiment was composed almost entirely of men from
Worcester County, and was mustered in on July 12, 1861.
Brigade, Divisional and Corps attachments
Attached to Gorman's Brigade, Stone's (Sedgwick's) Division, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to July, 1864
History
The regiment was mustered into Federal service on July 12, 1861, and left for the seat of war, arriving along the
Potomac on August 25. On October 21, it was engaged with the heaviest loss among all Federal regiments at the
Battle of Ball's Bluff
The Battle of Ball's Bluff was an early battle of the American Civil War fought in Loudoun County, Virginia, on October 21, 1861, in which Union Army forces under Major General George B. McClellan suffered a humiliating defeat.
The operation was ...
. In the spring of 1862, it was made a part of the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac and accompanied it during the
Peninsular Campaign, being engaged at the Battles of
Seven Pines,
Savage's Station, and
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''.
It may refer to:
Places Australia
* Glendale, New South Wales
** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre
*Glendale, Queensland, ...
with modest losses. In April 1862, the
1st Company Massachusetts Sharpshooters was attached to the regiment, serving with it until the spring of 1863. Spending most of the summer at
Harrison's Landing
Berkeley Plantation, one of the first plantations in America, comprises about on the banks of the James River on State Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia. Berkeley Plantation was originally called Berkeley Hundred, named after the Berkel ...
, it departed in August just in time to miss the
Battle of Second Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederat ...
. The regiment then embarked upon the
Maryland Campaign, where it was savagely flanked by the Confederates at the
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
, losing over 50% of its 600 men. During the
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...
, it was kept out of the main assault on
Marye's Heights
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...
and suffered relatively few losses. The
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
found the regiment engaged against the assaults of the
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
on July 2 and 3, 1863, with heavy loss. By 1864, the regiment's strength had dwindled, but it still faced rigorous campaigning with action at The
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...
,
Spotsylvania,
Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...
, and the
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...
. By June 22, the regiment could field only 75 officers and men. This small group was captured en masse that day when they were outflanked by a Confederate force on the Jerusalem Plank Road. The survivors and parolees mustered out of Federal service on July 26, 1864, with its recruits and re-enlistees being transferred to the
20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
Casualties
During the war, the 15th Massachusetts Regiment sustained the 10th-highest number of men killed or fatally wounded in action among all 1,200 Federal regiments. Its losses at several engagements are as follows:
* Ball's Bluff, Va., October 21, 1861: 40 killed or fatally wounded, 70 wounded, 202 captured (312 out of 650 engaged)
* Antietam, Md., September 17, 1862: 104 killed or fatally wounded, 206 wounded, 14 captured (324 of 600 engaged)
* Gettysburg, Pa., July 2–3, 1863: 37 killed or fatally wounded, 94 wounded, 24 captured (155 out of 239 engaged)
* Wilderness, Va., May 5–6, 1864: 16 killed or fatally wounded, 51 wounded, 17 captured (of whom 6 died in prison)
In sum, 14 officers and 227 enlisted men were killed or fatally wounded during the course of the war.
See also
{{Portal, American Civil War
*
List of Massachusetts Civil War units
*
Massachusetts in the Civil War
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts played a significant role in national events prior to and during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Massachusetts dominated the early antislavery movement during the 1830s, motivating activists across the nation ...
External links
* http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unmainf2.htm#15th
* https://archive.org/stream/massachusettssol21931mass#page/131/mode/1up
* https://books.google.com/books?id=IhxCAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Units and formations of the Union Army from Massachusetts
1861 establishments in Massachusetts
Military units and formations established in 1861
Military units and formations disestablished in 1864