The 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment, nicknamed ''The Morton Rifles'', 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 mar ...

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 conscript ...

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 of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

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 ...

. It had the distinction of fighting in the last land action of the war, the

Battle of Palmito Ranch The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill, is considered by some criteria as the final battle of the American Civil War. It was fought May 12 and 13, 1865, on the banks of the Rio Grande east of Brownsville, Texas, an ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

May 12–13, 1865, and also of suffering the last soldier killed during the war, Private John J. Williams.

Service

Organized at

Anderson, Indiana Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson ...

, and mustered in September 16, 1861. Moved to Jeffersonville, Indiana, October 10, 1861. To

New Haven, Kentucky New Haven is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 855 at the 2010 census. Geography New Haven is located adjacent to the Nelson- Larue county line at the intersection of US Route 31E and Kentucky ...

, November 15, and duty there until December 14, 1861. Moved to Camp Wicliffe, Kentucky, December 14, 1861, and duty there until February 7, 1862. Attached to 10th 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. ...

, November–December 1861. Attached to 10th Brigade, 4th Division, Army of the Ohio, to February 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division,

Army of the Mississippi Army of the Mississippi was the name given to two Union armies that operated around the Mississippi River, both with short existences, during the American Civil War. History 1862 The first army was created on February 23, 1862, with Maj. Gen ...

, to April 1862. 1st Brigade, 3d Division, Army of the Mississippi. Garrison at

New Madrid, Missouri New Madrid ( es, Nueva Madrid) is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,787 at the 2020 census. New Madrid is the county seat of New Madrid County. The city is located 42 miles (68 km) southwest of Cairo ...

, to July 1862.

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...

, District of Eastern Arkansas,

Department of the Missouri The Department of the Missouri was a command echelon of the United States Army in the 19th century and a sub division of the Military Division of the Missouri that functioned through the Indian Wars. History Background Following the successful ...

, to November 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Department of Eastern Arkansas,

Department of the Tennessee Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, to January 1863. 3rd Brigade, 12th Division, XIII Corps,

Army of the Tennessee An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, to February 1863. 1st Brigade, 12th Division, XIII Corps, Army of the Tennessee, to August 1863.

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 March 1864. Defenses of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, to December 1864.

Brazos Santiago Brazos Island, also known as Brazos Santiago Island, is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States, south of the town of South Padre Island. The island is located in Cameron County. Brazos Santiago Pass partitions the bar ...

, Texas, U.S. Forces, Texas, to June 1865.

Department of Texas The Department of Texas was a military department of the United States Army that existed from 1850 to 1861, and again from 1865 to 1866, from 1870 to 1913 and during the First World War. It was subordinate to the Military Division of the Missouri. ...

to February 1866.

Detailed Service

Moved to Green River, Kentucky, February 7, 1862, thence to the Ohio River, February 14, and to Cairo, Illinois, with Nelson's Division, Army of the Ohio, February 17–20. Detached from Division and moved to Commerce, Missouri, February 27-March 3. Siege of

, March 5–14. Siege and capture of

Island Number Ten Island Number Ten was an island in the Mississippi River near Tiptonville, Tennessee and the site of a major eponymous battle in the American Civil War. In the mid-19th century the United States Government began to adopt a uniform numbering plan ...

, Mississippi River, March 15-April 8. Riddell's Point March 17. Garrison duty at New Madrid, Missouri, April 7 to June 14. Expedition down Mississippi River to Fort Pillow, Tennessee, May 19–23 (Detachment). Capture of Fort Pillow June 5 (Detachment). Moved to Memphis, Tenn., June 14–15. Expedition up White River, Ark., June 26-July 14. Action at Grand Prairie July 6–7. Near Duvall's Bluff July 7. Aberdeen July 9. Arrived at Helena July 14, and duty there until April, 1863. Expedition to Arkansas Post November 16–22, 1862. Ordered to Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, April 14. Movement on Bruinsburg and turning Grand Gulf April 25–30. Battle of Port Gibson May 1. Fourteen-Mile Creek May 12–13. Battle of Champion's Hill May 16. Siege of

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...

, May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. Advance on

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

, July 4–10. Siege of Jackson July 10–17. Ordered to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, August 4, thence to Brashear City September 12. Western Louisiana Campaign October 3-November 30. Grand Coteau October 19. Carrion Crow Bayou November 3. At New Iberia until December 19. Regiment reenlisted at New Iberia December 15. Moved to Pass Cavallo, Texas, December 23, 1863 – January 8, 1864, and duty there until February 21. Moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, February 21, and duty there until March 20. Veterans on furlough until May. Garrison duty at New Orleans until December 18. Ordered to Brazos, Santiago, Texas, December 18, and duty there until June 16, 1865. Expedition from Brazos, Santiago, May 11–14, 1865. Action at the

, May 12–13, 1865 (last action of the war). White's Ranch May 13. March to Ringgold Barracks, 260 miles up the Rio Grande June 16–28. Duty at Ringgold Barracks until July 24, and at Brownsville, Texas, until February, 1866. Mustered out February 3, 1866.

Casualties

The Regiment lost during its service 2 Officers and 32 Enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, and 5 Officers and 204 Enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 243

John J