43rd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
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The 43rd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a
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 ...
of
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 ...
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 ...
. The unit was first formed in September 1862 in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for 300,000 men to serve for nine months. The nucleus of the regiment was the Second Battalion Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, a unit dating to 1798 known as the Boston Light Infantry and nicknamed the "Tigers." The 43rd Massachusetts therefore became known as the "Tiger Regiment." The regiment trained at
Camp Meigs Camp Meigs is a former American Civil War training camp that existed from 1862 to 1865 in Readville, Massachusetts. It was combined from the former Camp Brigham (formed to train the 18th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry) and Camp Massaso ...
in
Readville, Massachusetts Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after the mill owner James Read in 1847. It was part of Dedham until 1867. It is served by R ...
just outside of
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 ...
. They departed Massachusetts on October 24, assigned to Maj. Gen.
John G. Foster John Gray Foster (May 27, 1823 – September 2, 1874) was an American soldier. A career military officer in the United States Army and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, he served in North Carolina, North and South Caroli ...
's
Department of North Carolina The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863 it was formed by the merging of two previously existing department ...
, later designated as the XVIII Corps. The regiment was stationed in
New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...
. In December, the regiment took part in the Goldsboro Expedition. The objective of this maneuver was to disrupt 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 1 ...
supply line along the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. At the time of its completion in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with of track ...
by destroying the Goldsboro Bridge. During this expedition, was lightly engaged in the Battles of Kinston,
White Hall White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
and Goldsboro Bridge. While based in New Bern, the 43rd Massachusetts participated in patrols and reconnaissance expeditions. The unit returned to Boston in July 1863 and was mustered out on July 30, 1863. The regiment lost two men killed in action and 12 by disease.


See also

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Massachusetts in the 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. ...
*
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

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External links


43rd Massachusetts Infantry in square formation in New Bern, N.C., March 12, 1863
{{US-mil-unit-stub Units and formations of the Union Army from Massachusetts Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1863