The 170th 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 170th 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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and mustered on October 7, 1862, at

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

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 ...

Peter McDermott. The regiment was attached to District of Newport News, Virginia,

Department of Virginia The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863 it was formed by the merging of two previously existing departmen ...

, to December, 1862 Corcoran's Brigade, Division at Suffolk, Virginia,

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII ...

, Department of Virginia, to April 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, VII Corps, to July 1863. Corcoran's Brigade, King's Division, XXII Corps,

Department of Washington Department of Washington, was a department of the Union Army constituted on April 9, 1861. It consisted of the District of Columbia to its original boundaries, and the State of Maryland as far as Bladensburg. It was merged into the Military D ...

, to November 1863. 1st Brigade, Corcoran's Division, XXII Corps, to December 1863. 2nd Brigade, Tyler's Division, XXII Corps, to May 1864. 4th Brigade, 2nd Division,

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

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 ...

, to June 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps, to July 1865. The 170th New York Infantry mustered out of service July 19, 1865, at

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Detailed service

Left New York for Washington, D.C., October 16, 1862; then moved to Newport News, Va. Duty at Newport News, Va., until December 1862, and at Suffolk, Va., until May 1863. Action at Deserted House January 30, 1863. Siege of Suffolk April 12-May 4. Edenton Road April 15. Attack on Suffolk April 24. Providence Church Road, Nansemond River, May 3. Siege of Suffolk raised May 4. Operations on Seaboard & Roanoke Railroad May 12–26. Blackwater May 12. Holland House, Carrsville, May 15–16. Carrsville May 18. Dix's Peninsula Campaign June 24-July 7. Moved to Washington, D.C., July 12. Duty in and about that city and guard duty on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad until May 1864. Ordered to join the Army of the Potomac in the field. Rapidan Campaign May 17-June 15. Spotsylvania Court House May 17–21. North Anna River May 23–26. On line of the Pamunkey May 26–28. Totopotomoy May 28–31. Cold Harbor June 1–12. Before Petersburg June 16–18. Siege of Petersburg June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865. Jerusalem Plank Road, Weldon Railroad, June 22–23, 1864. Demonstration on north side of the James July 27–29. Deep Bottom July 27–28. Demonstration north of the James August 13–20. Strawberry Plains, Deep Bottom, August 14–18. Ream's Station August 25. Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher's Run, October 27–28. Dabney's Mills, Hatcher's Run, February 5–7, 1865. Watkins' House March 25. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Boydton and White Oak Roads March 30–31. Crow's House March 31. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 3–9. Sailor's Creek April 6. High Bridge, Farmville, April 7. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. At Burkesville until May 2. March to Washington, D. C., May 2–12.

Grand Review of the Armies The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in the ...

May 23. Duty at Washington, D.C., until July.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 227 men during service; 10 officers and 119 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 96 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Peter McDermott - discharged January 4, 1863 * Colonel James Patrick McIvor

Notable members

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Michael Cotter Murphy -

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient for action at the Battle of North Anna River; dismissed from the service June 4, 1864, due to disability *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Hugh Francis "Bob" O'Lone, Company F - active in Canadian politics; member of the Convention of Forty and served in the

Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia The Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia (french: Assemblée législative d'Assiniboine) was a short-lived legislature established to pass laws for the North-Western Territory and Rupert's Land under the provisional government led by Louis Riel from ...

References