The 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, also known as the "Harvard Regiment," was a regiment of infantry in the American Civil War. The regiment was so nicknamed because the officers of the 20th were young

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

graduates. In addition, some, but not all, of the private soldiers had attended Harvard. The 20th was organized at

Camp Meigs Camp Meigs is a former American Civil War training camp that existed from 1862 to 1865 in Readville, Massachusetts. It was combined from the former Camp Brigham (formed to train the 18th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry) and Camp Massaso ...

Readville Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after the mill owner James Read in 1847. It was part of Dedham until 1867. It is served by ...

, August 29 to September 4, 1861. After training they left Massachusetts for

Washington, D. C. ) , 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, Na ...

, September 4. They would fight until the war's conclusion being mustered out on July 16 and discharged July 28, 1865.

Brigade, divisional and corps attachments

Attached to Lander's Brigade, Division of the Potomac, to October, 1861. Lander's Brigade, Stone's (Sedgwick's) Division, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Army Corps, to July, 1865.

Battles

With the exception of First Bull Run, the 20th participated in all of the major battles and many of the smaller battles fought by the Army of the Potomac. Their baptism of fire occurred at

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 ...

on October 21, 1861. Other battles included the Seven Days, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

, Spotsylvania Court House, the Siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox Campaign.

Casualties

The 20th regiment lost 17 officers and 243 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and one officer and 148 enlisted men from disease. The total casualties were 409. The regiment ranks first among Massachusetts regiments and fifth among Union regiments in total casualties."The Harvard Regiment"
Retrieved on 2008-02-15

Notable members

* Henry L. Abbott * William Bartlett * Joseph Hayes * Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. * Norwood "Pen" Hallowell * Edward Needles Hallowell *

William Raymond Lee William Raymond Lee (August 15, 1807 – December 26, 1891) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His father was also named William Raymond Lee and his mother was Hannah Lee (née Tracy ...

* Francis Winthrop Palfrey *

Paul Joseph Revere Paul Joseph Revere (Sept 10, 1832 – July 4, 1863) was a Brevet Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life He was born in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. He was the grandson and namesake of Revolutionary War ...

Henry Martyn Tremlett Henry Martyn Tremlett (1833 – March 31, 1865) was a Boston merchant prior to serving four years' active duty during the American Civil War. Tremlett began as a captain in the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment from 1861 to 1862, then ...

Notes

References

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External links

Pvt of 20th Mass killed in 1863
* * {{Internet Archive, 02619701.3247.emory.edu, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865 (1906) 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 1865