The 17th Massachusetts 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 ...
that served 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 17th Massachusetts was organized at
Camp Schouler Camp Edwin M. Stanton (usually known as just Camp Stanton) was an American Civil War training camp that existed from 1861-1862 in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. When the camp first opened in 1861 it was known as Camp Schouler, named for Massachusetts Ad ...
in
Lynnfield,
and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on July 22, 1861 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 ...
Thomas J.C. Amory
Thomas Jonathan Coffin Amory (November 27, 1828 – October 7, 1864) was an officer in the Regular Army of the United States prior to and during the Civil War.
Early service and Utah War
After graduating from West Point in 1851, as 30th out of 4 ...
.
The regiment was attached to Dix's Command, Baltimore, Maryland, to March 1862. Foster's 1st Brigade, Burnside's Expeditionary Corps, to April 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division,
Department of North Carolina
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 department ...
, to December 1862. Amory's Brigade, Department of North Carolina, to January 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Division,
XVIII Corps, Department of North Carolina, to July 1863, Defenses of New Bern, North Carolina,
Department of Virginia and North Carolina
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 July 1864. Sub-District of Beaufort, North Carolina, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to January 1865. Sub-District of Beaufort, North Carolina, Department of North Carolina, to March 1865. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, District of Beaufort, North Carolina, Department of North Carolina, to March 1865. 1st Brigade, Division District of Beaufort, to April 1865. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division,
XXIII Corps, to July 1865.
The 17th Massachusetts mustered out of service on July 11, 1865 at
Greensboro
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
,
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 Massachusetts for Baltimore, Md., August 23. Duty at Baltimore, Md., until March 1862. Ordered to New Bern, N.C., March 12, and duty there until December. Reconnaissance toward Trenton May 15–16. Trenton Bridge May 15. Trenton and Pollocksville Road May 22 (Company I). Expedition to Trenton and Pollocksville July 24–28. Demonstration on New Bern November 11. Foster's Expedition to Goldsboro December 11–20. Kinston December 14. Whitehall December 16. Goldsboro December 17. Provost duty at and near New Bern until April 1863. March to relief of Washington, N.C., April 7–10. Blount's Creek April 9. Expedition to Washington April 17–19. Expedition toward Kinston April 27-May 1. Wise's Cross Roads and Dover Road April 28. Expedition to Thenton July 4–8. Quaker Bridge July 6. Raid on Weldon July 25-August 1. Duty at New Bern until February 1864. Operations about New Bern against Whiting January 18-February 10, 1864. Skirmishes at Beech Creek and Batchelor's Creek February 1–3. Expedition to Washington April 18–22. Washington April 27–28. Duty at New Bern and vicinity until July 27, and at Newport Barracks until September 23. Veterans on furlough until November 10. Duty at Newport Barracks November 20, 1864 to March 4, 1865. Moved to Core Creek. Battle of Wyse Fork March 8–10, 1865. Occupation of Kinston March 15. Occupation of Goldsboro March 21. Advance on Raleigh April 9–14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Duty at Greensboro May 5-July 11.
Casualties
The regiment lost a total of 172 men during service; 21 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 4 officers and 147 enlisted men died of disease.
Commanders
* Colonel Thomas J.C. Amory
* Colonel John F. Fellows
* Colonel Henry Splaine - commanded at this rank, but not mustered
See also
*
List of Massachusetts Civil War Units
Units raised in Massachusetts during the American Civil War consisted of 62 regiments of infantry, six regiments of cavalry, 16 batteries of light artillery, four regiments of heavy artillery, two companies of sharpshooters, a handful of unattach ...
*
Massachusetts in the American 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. ...
References
* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908.
* Kirwan, Thomas. ''Soldiering in North Carolina'' (Boston: T. Kirwan), 1864.
* Kirwan, Thomas and Henry Splaine. ''Memorial History of the Seventeenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Old and New Organizations) in the Civil War from 1861-1865'' (Salem, MA: Salem Press Co.), 1911.
* {{CWR
Military units and formations established in 1861
Military units and formations disestablished in 1865
Units and formations of the Union Army from Massachusetts