The 51st Indiana 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 ...

Service

The 51st Indiana Infantry was organized and mustered in at

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, for a three-year enlistment on December 14, 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 ...

Abel D. Streight. The regiment was attached to 20th 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. Do ...

, to January 1862. 20th Brigade, 6th Division, Army of the Ohio, to September 1862. 20th Brigade, 6th Division,

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Left Wing,

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

Army of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

, to January 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XXI Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to April 1863. Streight's Provisional Brigade, Army of the Cumberland, to May 1863. Prisoners of war until December 1863. Post of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Department of the Cumberland, to April 1864. 1st Separate Brigade, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Department of the Cumberland, to September 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to November 1864. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, IV Corps, to August 1865. Department of Texas to December 1865. The 51st Indiana Infantry mustered out of service at

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, on December 13, 1865.

Detailed service

December 14: Moved to ''Louisville, KY'' until February 1862: to ''Bardstown, KY'' (and duty there) February 7-March 13, 1862: March to ''Nashville, TN'' March 29-April 6: March to ''Savannah, TN'' April 6–7: ''Battle of Shiloh'' April 29-May 30: Advance on and siege of ''Corinth, MS'' May 31-June 12: Pursuit to ''Booneville'' June to August: Buell's Campaign in ''northern Alabama'' and ''middle Tennessee'' August 21-September 26: Guarding ''Memphis'' & ''Charleston Railroad''. March to ''Louisville, KY'' (in pursuit of Bragg) October 1–22: Pursuit of Bragg to ''London, KY'' October 8: Battle of ''Perryville'' (reserve). October 22-November 7: March to ''Nashville, TN'' until December 26: Duty in Nashville, TN December 25: Prim's Blacksmith Shop, ''Edmonson Pike'' December 26–30: Advance on ''Murfreesboro'' December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863: ''Battle of Stones River'' until April: Duty at ''Murfreesboro'' January 13–15: Reconnaissance to ''Nolensville'' and ''Versailles'' April 26-May 3: Streight's Raid to ''Rome, GA'' April 30: ''Dug Gap'', ''Sand Mountain'', ''Crooked Creek'' and ''Hog Mountain'' May 1: East Branch ''Black Warrior Creek'' May 2: ''Blount's Farm'' May 3: ''near Centre'' ''Galesville'' (''Cedar Bluff'') (where the regiment was captured) November 1863: Exchanged December 1863: Reorganized at ''Indianapolis, IN,'' and rejoined the army at ''Nashville, TN'' June 23-July 7: (A detachment on Tullahoma Campaign) until April 1864: Assigned to duty as guard on Railroad, ''between Nashville and Chattanooga'' until September 1864: Duty at ''Chattanooga'' until October: Duty at ''Atlanta'' August 14–15: Action at ''Dalton, GA'' October 3–26: Pursuit of Hood ''into Alabama'' November–December: ''Nashville Campaign'' November 24–27: ''Columbia, Duck River'' November 30: ''Battle of Franklin'' December 15–16: ''Battle of Nashville'' December 17–28: Pursuit of Hood to the ''Tennessee River'' December 21: ''Columbia'' December 22: ''Duck River'' December 14, 1864: Non-veterans mustered out until March 1865: Moved to ''Huntsville, AL'' (and duty there) March 15-April 22: Operations in ''eastern TN'' until June: At ''Nashville'' June 16: Ordered to ''New Orleans'' July: To ''TX'' until December: Duty at ''Green Lake'' and ''San Antonio''

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 264 men during service; 1 officer and 55 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 6 officers and 202 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Abel D. Streight *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

William W. Scearce - commanded at the battle of Nashville

Notable members

* Captain

Marion T. Anderson Marion T. Anderson (November 13, 1839 - February 7, 1904) was an American soldier who received the Medal of Honor for valor during the American Civil War. Biography Anderson served in the American Civil War in Company D, 51st Indiana Infantry for ...

, Company D -

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient, for action at Nashville * Captain Milton Russell, Company A - Medal of Honor recipient, for action at Stones River

References

* ''Brief Sketches of the Military Services, Escape from Libby Prison, How He Won a Medal of Honor, and Grand Army Record of Major Marion T. Anderson, Late of the 51st Indiana Vet. Vols.'' (Washington, DC: Gibson Brothers), 1897. * Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Hartpence, William R. ''History of the Fifty-First Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry: A Narrative of its Organization, Marches, Battles and Other Experiences in Camp and Prison, from 1861 to 1866'' (Cincinnati:

The Robert Clarke Company Robert Clarke & Company was a book publishing company and bookseller in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1858 to 1909. After 1894, it was known as The Robert Clarke Company. It published literary and historical works. Leadership Robert Clarke was born May 1, ...