The 59th New York Infantry Regiment was a regiment 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 ...

. As part of the Second Corps of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

, it played a significant role in battles such as

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 ...

and Gettysburg.

History

Recruitment

The 59th New York included recruits mainly from the streets of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and its environs, from upstate New York, and also a prominent group from north central

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The regiment was mustered in from August 2, 1861, to October 30, 1861, and first commanded by Colonel William L. Tidball. After training in New York, the men of the 59th were assigned to the defense of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and then, in July 1862, to the Second Corps of the

Antietam

The 59th fought its first severe action at the Battle of Antietam, where it was part of the ill-fated advance of Maj. Gen.

John Sedgwick John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was a military officer and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an unsuccessful assault against Co ...

’s division into the West Woods, near the Dunker Church. In the chaos of that battle, part of the regiment purportedly fired into the rear of the friendly 15th Massachusetts ahead of them. The 59th New York itself escaped the maelstrom after losing 224 men killed, wounded, and missing, including the loss of 8 officers. A monument at

marks the spot where Lieutenant Colonel John L. Stetson fell mortally wounded.

Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville

The Union Guards were heavily engaged on both December 11 and December 13, 1862, at the Battle of Fredericksburg. During the

Chancellorsville Campaign The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

in early May 1863, the 59th supported Sedgwick's actions against Marye's Heights. In June, the command of the regiment changed dramatically after Colonel William Northedge resigned due to charges of corruption and drunkenness on duty. Lieutenant Colonel Max A. Thoman replaced Northedge as commander. Under Thoman's leadership, the small number of the 59th marched with the rest of Colonel Norman J. Hall's brigade of Brig. Gen.

John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four ...

's division into Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg Campaign.

Gettysburg

At Gettysburg, the 59th occupied a position on the right of Hall's line on

Cemetery Ridge Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park, south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for th ...

. There it fought on

July 2 Events Pre-1600 * 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome. * 626 – Li Shimin, t ...

against the assault of Brig. Gen.

Ambrose R. Wright Ambrose Ransom "Rans" Wright (April 26, 1826 – December 21, 1872) was a lawyer, Georgia politician, and Confederate general in the American Civil War. Early life Wright, known by the nickname "Rans", was born in Louisville, Georgia. He rea ...

. Sergeant James Wiley of Company B was credited with capturing the battle flag of the 48th Georgia. (Wiley was later captured at Petersburg and died at Andersonville Prison.) Lt. Col. Thoman fell mortally wounded in the action that evening and was replaced by Captain William McFadden of Ohio. The regiment occupied the same position on July 3 against the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Assault, during which was wounded its young adjutant, Lieutenant William H. Pohlman.

Grant's Campaign through Appomattox

The 59th fought with the Army of the Potomac through

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union ...

, seeing significant action at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania,

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

, and Petersburg. Near Petersburg, on June 22, 1864, a large number of the regiment was taken prisoner. These great losses were offset by conscripts and volunteers from New York, and from men of the

82nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 82nd New York Infantry Regiment, the "Second Militia," "Second Regiment N. Y. S. Light Infantry," or "State Guards", was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 2d Regiment Militia failing to be order ...

. Redesignated as 59th New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry, it served until the end of the war at Appomattox and was mustered out under Colonel William A. Olmsted on June 30, 1865.

Monuments

Two notable monuments have been erected, one at

Gettysburg National Military Park The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the park is managed by the National Park Service. The GNMP propert ...

in 1889 and the other at

Antietam National Battlefield Antietam National Battlefield is a National Park Service-protected area along Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Washington County, northwestern Maryland. It commemorates the American Civil War Battle of Antietam that occurred on September 17, 1862. ...

in 1920.

References

*Fry, Zachery, "'Boys, Bury Me on the Field': The Forlorn and Forgotten 59th New York on Cemetery Ridge" in ''Gettysburg Magazine,'' The Gettysburg Magazine. January 2007, pp. 103–115. Infantry 059 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Military units and formations established in 1861 1861 establishments in New York (state)