The 26th Connecticut 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 ...

for nine months service.

Service

The 26th Connecticut Infantry Regiment was organized at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, on November 10, 1862. The regiment was attached to Sherman's Division,

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was co ...

, to January 1863. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to August 1863. The 26th Connecticut Infantry mustered out of service August 17, 1863. Located in Norwich's Little Plain Park (between Broadway and Union Street), sits the 26th Regiment Volunteer Infantry Monument, dedicated in 1902 to honor those who served in the Civil War in late 1862 and mid-1863.

Detailed service

Left Connecticut for eastern New York November 12, then sailed for Ship Island and New Orleans, Louisiana, November 29, arriving there December 16. Duty at Camp Parapet until May 1863. Moved to Springfield Landing May 20. Siege of Port Hudson May 24-July 9. Assaults on Port Hudson May 27 and June 14. Surrender of Port Hudson July 9.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 145 men during service; 4 officers and 51 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 89 enlisted men died of disease.

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 ...

Thomas G. Kingsley - Wounded May 27, 1863 during the first assault at Port Hudson. *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Joseph Selden - commanded during the siege of Port Hudson

References

* Alexander, Walter S. ''Sermon Occasioned by the Death of Edwin Ruthven Keyes, Sergeant in the 26th Conn. Regiment, Who Was Wounded at Port Hudson, May 27th, 1863, and Who Died at Baton Rouge, La., June 12th, 1863'' (Danielsonville, CT: Transcript Print.), 1863. * Association of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. ''Roster, Muster Roll and Chronological Record of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers and Memoranda of the Association of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers'' (Norwich, CT: F. Utley), 1888. * Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Fellows, William C. ''Dear Mother and Sister: The Civil War Letters of Pvt. William C. Fellows, 26th Regt., Conn. Volunteers, Company K'' (Old Mystic, CT: The Indian and Colonial Research Center), 2009. * ''Memoranda Twenty-Sixth Regiment, Conn. Vols.'' (S.l.: s.n.), 1887. * Smith, Stephen. ''Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion'' (Hartford, CT: The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company), 1889. ;Attribution * {{CWR

External links