The 20th Kentucky 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 ...

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 20th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was organized at

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

Camp Dick Robinson In mid-May 1861, U. S. Navy lieutenant William "Bull" Nelson armed Kentuckians loyal to the Union and that soon became the foundation for his receiving authority to enlist 10,000 troops for a campaign into East Tennessee. On August 6, 1861, those r ...

, and

Smithfield, Kentucky Smithfield is a home rule-class city in Henry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 106 at the 2010 census. The mayor of Smithfield is Greg Gephart. History Smithfield was a station on the Louisville and Cincinnati Railroad. A po ...

and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on January 6, 1862. The regiment was attached to 22nd Brigade,

Army of the Ohio The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863. History 1st Army of the Ohio General Orders No. 97 appointed Maj. Gen. Do ...

, to February 1862. 22nd Brigade, 4th Division, Army of the Ohio, to September 1862. 22nd Brigade, 4th 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 Ohio, to November 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Left Wing,

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

Army of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

, to December 1862. District of West Kentucky,

Department of the Ohio The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River. 1st Department 1861–1862 Genera ...

, to June 1863. Unassigned, 2nd Division, XXIII Corps, Department of the Ohio, to August 1863. District of Louisville, Kentucky, 1st Division, XXIII Corps, to April 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, District of Kentucky, 5th Division, XXIII Corps, to May 1864. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XXIII Corps, to December 1864. Unattached, District of Kentucky, to January 1865. The 20th Kentucky Infantry mustered out of service on January 17, 1865.

Detailed service

The regiment united at Smithland and was ordered to Louisville, Ky.; thence to Bardstown, Ky., January 1862, and duty there until February. March to Nashville, Tenn., February 23-March 12; thence march to Savannah, Tenn., March 13-April 6. Battle of Shiloh, April 6–7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29-May 30. Phillips' Creek, Widow Serratt's, May 21. Bridge Creek, before Corinth, May 28. Occupation of Corinth May 30 and pursuit to Booneville May 31-June 6. Buell's Campaign in northern Alabama and middle Tennessee June to August. March to Nashville, Tenn.; thence to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg, August 20-September 26. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–22, Glasgow, Ky., October 5. Battle of Perryville October 8. Camp Wild Cat October 17. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 22-November 9, and duty there until December 19. Ordered to Bowling Green, Ky., December 19, and duty there and guarding railroad at various points in Kentucky until July 1863. Morgan's attack on Lebanon July 5. Regiment mostly captured, at Camp Nelson until July 28. Ordered to Louisville, Ky., and provost duty there until May 15, 1864. Ordered to join Sherman's army in the field May 15. Operations and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 30-June 5. Ackworth June 3–4. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Muddy Creek June 17. Noyes' Creek June 19. Kolb's Farm June 22. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Nickajack Creek July 2–5. Chattahoochie River July 6–17. Decatur July 19. Howard House July 20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Utoy Creek August 5–7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. Ordered to Louisville, Ky., September, and guard duty there until January 1865.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 233 men during service; 36 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 3 officers and 194 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Sanders D. Bruce * Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Hanson

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. ;Attribution *

External links