The 32nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an
infantry regiment in the
Union army during the
American Civil War. The nucleus of the regiment was a
battalion of six
companies raised in September 1861 to garrison
Fort Warren, the largest fortification in
Boston harbor. The battalion was originally known as the 1st Battalion Massachusetts Infantry or the Fort Warren Battalion.
The unit was transferred to the battle front following
Abraham Lincoln's urgent call for troops in response to the
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...
advance on Washington during
Jackson's Valley Campaign in May 1862. The Fort Warren Battalion arrived in Northern Virginia in June 1862 and, though it did not yet have a complete regimental roster of 10 companies, it then became known as the 32nd Regiment Massachusetts Infantry. In July 1862, the 32nd was assigned to the
Army of the Potomac and was shipped to
Fortress Monroe to join its new command at the close of the unsuccessful
Peninsular Campaign. During the summer of 1862, four more companies were added to the unit and by September 3, 1862, the 32nd had a full regimental roster.
[Bowen, 481.]
The regiment took part in 30 battles overall including the
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...
, the
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
, the
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...
, the
Battle of Gettysburg, and numerous engagements during the
Overland Campaign and the
Siege of Petersburg. In the Overland Campaign, during the
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, the unit was heavily engaged and suffered 54 percent casualties—its worst casualties of the war.
[Bowen, 489.]
The composition of the 32nd Massachusetts was unusual in that it was continually replenished, during the latter months of the war, by men from disbanded regiments who had reenlisted for a second term of service. In all, remnants of seven different regiments were consolidated with the 32nd including the
9th
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
,
12th
12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6.
It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...
,
13th
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...
,
18th
18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19.
In mathematics
* Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...
,
22nd, and
39th Massachusetts Infantries.
[Bowen, 491 – 493.] After the Confederate surrender, the 32nd Massachusetts participated in the
Grand Review of the Armies in
Washington, D.C., then returned to Boston and was disbanded on July 11, 1865.
[Bowen, 495.]
See also
*
Massachusetts in the Civil War
*
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 ...
Notes
References
*
*
External links
*{{Internet Archive, 01664875.3096.emory.edu, The story of the Thirty-second Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry: whence it came, where it went, what it saw, and what it did (1880)
Units and formations of the Union Army from Massachusetts
1862 establishments in Massachusetts
Military units and formations established in 1862
Military units and formations disestablished in 1865