The 19th 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 ...

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 19th 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,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on August 28, 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 ...

Edward Winslow Hinks Edward Winslow Hincks (May 30, 1830 – February 14, 1894) was a career United States Army officer who served as a brigadier general during the American Civil War. Early life Hincks was born in Bucksport, Maine. His name, spelled correctly, ...

. The regiment was attached to Lander's Brigade, Division of the Potomac, to October 1861. Lander's Brigade, Stone's (Sedgwick's) Division,

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 March 1862. 3rd 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, to March 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps, to June 1865. The 19th Massachusetts mustered out of service on June 30, 1865, and was discharged July 22, 1865.

Detailed service

Left Massachusetts for Washington, D.C., August 30. Camp at Meridian Hill until September 12, 1861. Moved to Poolesville, Md., September 12–15. Guard duty on the Upper Potomac until December. Operations on the Potomac October 21–24. Action at Ball's Bluff October 21. Moved to Muddy Run December 4, and duty there until March 12, 1862. Moved to Harpers Ferry, then to Charlestown and Berryville March 12–15. Ordered to Washington, D.C., March 24, and to the Peninsula March 27. Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4. West Point May 7–8. Battle of Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, May 31-June 1. Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1. Oak Grove, near Fair Oaks, June 25. Peach Orchard and Savage Station June 29. White Oak Swamp and Glendale June 30. Malvern Hill July 1. Harrison's Landing July 8. At Harrison's Landing until August 15. Movement to Alexandria August 15–28, thence to Fairfax Court House August 28–31. Cover Pope's retreat from Bull Run August 31-September 1. Maryland Campaign September–October. Battle of South Mountain September 14 (reserve). Battle of Antietam September 16–17. Moved to Harpers Ferry September 22, and duty there until October 30. Advance up Loudon Valley and movement to Falmouth, Va., October 30-November 17. Battle of Fredericksburg December 11–15. (Forlorn Hope to cross Rappahannock at Fredericksburg December 11.) Duty at Falmouth, Va., until April 1863. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Maryes' Heights. Fredericksburg, May 3. Salem Heights May 3–4. Gettysburg Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg July 2–4, Advance from the Rappahannock to the Rapidan September 13–17. Bristoe Campaign October 9–22. Bristoe Station October 14. Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7–8. Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2. Robertson's Tavern, or Locust Grove, November 27. At Stevensburg until May 1864. Demonstration on the Rapidan February 6–7. Campaign from the Rapidan to the James May–June. Battles of the Wilderness May 5–7. Laurel Hill May 8. Spotsylvania May 8–12. Po River May 10. Spotsylvania Court House May 12–21. Assault on the Salient May 12. 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 June 22–23, 1864. Demonstration north of the James July 27–29. Deep Bottom July 27–28. 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. Watkin's House March 25. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Crow's House March 31. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Sailor's Creek April 6. High Bridge and Farmville April 7. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. At Burkesville until May 2. March to Washington May 2–13.

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 until June 30.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 294 men during service; 14 officers and 147 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 133 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Edward Winslow Hinks * Colonel Arthur Forrester Devereux * Lt. Colonel Edmund Rice

Notable members

* Major General

Adolphus Greely Adolphus Washington Greely (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of Major general (United States), major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. A native o ...

- Medal of Honor recipient in recognition of his long and distinguished career; the second person to be awarded the Medal of Honor for "lifetime achievement" *

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Edmund Rice -

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 Gettysburg, July 3 * 2nd Lieutenant John G. B. Adams, Company I - Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Battle of Fredericksburg * Color Sergeant Benjamin Franklin Falls, Company A - Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3; killed in action at the Battle of Spotsylvania * Sergeant Benjamin H. Jellison, Company C - Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3 * Corporal

Joseph H. De Castro Joseph H. De Castro (November 14, 1844 – May 8, 1892) was the first Hispanic American to be awarded the United States's highest military decoration for valor in combat—the Medal of Honor—for having distinguished himself during Pickett's ...

, Company I - Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3; the first

Hispanic-American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

to be awarded the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

' highest military decoration for valor in combat * Private John H. Robinson, Company I - Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3

References

* Adams, John G. B. ''Reminiscences of the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment'' (Boston, MA: Wright & Potter Print. Co.), 1899. * ''Brigadier-General Edmund Rice, U.S.A.B.S., M.A., N.U. '60: A Brief Record of His Military Career and Tribute to His Memory'' (Norwich, VT: Norwich University), 1907. * Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Dyer, J. Franklin. ''The Journal of a Civil War Surgeon'' (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press), 2003. * Hodgkins, Joseph Edward. ''The Civil War Diary of Lieut. J. E. Hodgkins: 19th Massachusetts Volunteers from August 11, 1862 to June 3, 1865'' (Camden, ME: Picton Press), 1994. * Root, Edwin R. ''"Isn't this glorious!": The 15th, 19th, and 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiments at Gettysburg's Copse of Trees'' (Bethlehem, PA: Moon Trail Books), 2006. * Waitt, Ernest Linden. ''History of the Nineteenth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865'' (Salem, MA: Salem Press), 1906. eprinted in 1988, * Weston, Henry Grant. ''Random Shots'' (Boston, MA: s.n.), 1913. * Weymouth, Albert Blodgett. ''A Memorial Sketch of Lieut. Edgar M. Newcomb, of the Nineteenth Mass. Vols.'' (Malden, MA: A. G. Brown, Printer), 1883. * {{CWR

External links

19th Massachusetts Infantry monument at Gettysburg Battlefield
Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Massachusetts