The 26th Massachusetts 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 26th Massachusetts was organized at
Camp Cameron in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
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 F. Jones.
The regiment was attached to Ship Island Expedition to March 1862. 2nd Brigade,
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 cons ...
, to October 1862. Defenses of New Orleans, Department of the Gulf, to January 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division,
XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to July 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to February 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to June 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to July 1864, and
Army of the Shenandoah,
Middle Military Division The Middle Military Division was an organization of the Union Army during the American Civil War, responsible for operations around the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and the Valley Campaigns of 1864.
In the summer of 1864, Confederate General Juba ...
, to January 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XIX Corps, Army of the Shenandoah, to April 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Provisional Division, Army of the Shenandoah, to April 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division,
Department of Washington
Department of Washington, was a department of the Union Army constituted on April 9, 1861. It consisted of the District of Columbia to its original boundaries, and the State of Maryland as far as Bladensburg. It was merged into the Military D ...
,
XXII Corps, to June 1865.
Department of the South The Department of the South was a military department of the United States Army that existed in several iterations in the 19th century during and after the American Civil War.
1862–65
After the first 11 months of the American Civil War, startin ...
to August 1865.
The 26th Massachusetts mustered out of service August 26, 1865, at
Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and was discharged September 18, 1865, in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts.
Detailed service
Moved to Camp Chase in Lowell, September 23, and to Boston November 19. Sailed on steamer ''Constitution'' to Ship Island, Miss., November 21, arriving there December 3. Duty at Ship Island until April 15, 1862. Occupation of Ship Island, Miss., December 3, 1861, to April 15, 1862. Skirmish at Mississippi City March 8, 1862. Movement to the passes of the Mississippi River April 15–18. Operations against Forts St. Phillip and Jackson April 18–28. Occupation of Forts St. Phillip and Jackson April 28 to July. Moved to New Orleans, La., and duty there until June 20, 1863.
Expedition to Pass Manchac and Ponchatoula
The Expedition to Pass Manchac and Ponchatoula was a military engagement of the American Civil War that took place September 13–15, 1862 in and around Pass Manchac and Ponchatoula, Louisiana. The objective of the Union troops was to sabotage t ...
September 13–15, 1862 (1 company). Ponchatoula September 14–15 (1 company). Moved to LaFourche Crossing June 20, 1863. Action at LaFourche Crossing, Thibodeaux, June 20–21. Moved to Bontee Station June 26, and to Jefferson Station June 30. Moved to New Orleans July 15, and provost duty there until August 28. Moved to Baton Rouge August 28–29. Sabine Pass Texas Expedition, September 4–11. At Algiers until September 16. Moved to Brashear City and Berwick City September 16, and to Camp Bisland September 23. Bayou Teche Campaign October 3-November 30. At New Iberia until January 7, 1864. Moved to Franklin January 7–9 and duty there until February 24. Moved to New Orleans February 24–25 and duty there until March 22. (Veterans on leave March 22 to May 20.) Camp at Carrollton until June 8. Moved to Morganza June 8 and duty there until July 3. Moved to New Orleans July 3–4, then to Fortress Monroe and Bermuda Hundred, Va., July 11–21. On the Bermuda Hundred front July 22–28. Demonstration on north side of the James July 28–30. Deep Bottom July 28–29. Moved to Washington, D.C., July 30-August 1; then to Tennallytown August 1. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August to December. Battle of Opequon, Winchester, September 19. Fisher's Hill, September 22. Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Non-veterans left front October 19 and mustered out November 7, 1864. Provost duty at Headquarters of Middle Military Division and Army of the Shenandoah at Winchester, until May 1, 1865. Moved to Washington, D.C., May 1–2, and camp there until June 3. Moved to Savannah, Ga., June 3–7, and provost duty there until August 2. Mustered out August 26, 1865. Moved to Boston, Mass., September 12–18, and there discharged from service.
Casualties
The regiment lost a total of 249 men during service; 3 officers and 61 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 3 officers and 182 enlisted men died of disease.
Commanders
* Colonel Edward F. Jones
* Colonel Alphon B. Farr
See also
*
List of Massachusetts Civil War Units
Units raised in Massachusetts during the American Civil War consisted of 62 regiments of infantry, six regiments of cavalry, 16 batteries of light artillery, four regiments of heavy artillery, two companies of sharpshooters, a handful of unattach ...
*
Massachusetts in the American Civil War
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts played a significant role in national events prior to and during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Massachusetts dominated the early antislavery movement during the 1830s, motivating activists across the nation. ...
References
* Chandonnet, Ann. ''Write Quick: War and a Woman's Life in Letters, 1835-1867'' (Wilmington, NC: Winoca Press), 2010.
* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908.
* Estabrooks, Henry L. ''Adrift in Dixie; or, A Yankee Officer Among the Rebels'' (New York: Carleton), 1866.
* Post, Merry B. ''A Farm Boy in the Civil War: The Experiences of Aaron Jones Fletcher and His Family from Acton, Massachusetts'' (Acton, MA: Iron Work Farm), 2012.
* {{CWR
Military units and formations established in 1861
Military units and formations disestablished in 1865
Units and formations of the Union Army from Massachusetts
1861 establishments in Massachusetts