The 16th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, U.S. Volunteers was an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

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 ...

of 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 ...

, but served mostly as

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 ...

Service

Companies organized and mustered in between September 1863 and February 1864. All moved to

Fortress Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Regiment on duty at Fortress Monroe, Yorktown and Gloucester Point, Virginia, till June 1864, as Heavy Artillery and Infantry. Companies were attached to various brigades/divisions of

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * X ...

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River (Virginia), James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. Histor ...

, through December 1864 and then XXII Corps and XXIV Corps, to July–August 1865. The surplus men recruited were ordered transferred to the

6th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment The 6th Regiment New York Heavy Artillery, U.S. Volunteers, the "Anthony Wayne Guard", was an artillery regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was originally mustered in as the 135th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, an ...

in April 1864, and in May 1864, a large number of men were transferred to the

81st New York Volunteer Infantry The 81st New York Infantry Regiment (aka "2nd Oswego Regiment" and "Mohawk Rangers") was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 81st New York Infantry was organized at Albany, New York beginning Februar ...

and 148th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment and 270 to the

1st Regiment New York Mounted Rifles The 1st Regiment New York Mounted Rifles, sometimes designated 7th Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry, was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Companies organized and mustered in between July 1861 and Sep ...

. Regiment concentrated at

Washington, District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, July 1865, and duty there till August. Mustered out August 21, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

According to one source in June 1864, the regiment was "the largest regiment ever recruited in the United States, and has men in the following places: At Yorktown, 1,140; at Williamsburgh, 736; at Gloucester Point, 147; at

Bermuda Hundred Bermuda Hundred was the first administrative division in the English colony of Virginia. It was founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1613, six years after Jamestown. At the southwestern edge of the confluence of the Appomattox and James Rivers oppos ...

, 270; putting up telegraph, 60; with One Hundred and Forty-eighth New York Volunteers, 46; with First New York Mounted Rifles, 272—transferred; with Eighty-fifth New York Volunteers, 46; with light batteries United States Artillery, 22; with

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 ...

, 201—transferred; making a total of 2,928 men and 63 officers." This source claimed there were nearly 3,700 men mustered for the regiment. Regiment lost during service 42 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 284 Enlisted men by disease. Total 328.National Park Service The Civil War Regiment Details Union New York Volunteers

Commanders

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 ...

Joseph J. Morrison

Notes

References

The Civil War Archive

External links