83rd Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry
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The 83rd Indiana Infantry Regiment, sometimes called 83rd Indiana Volunteer 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 83rd Indiana Infantry was organized at Lawrenceburg,
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
September 4 - November 5, 1862, and mustered in for a three-year enlistment 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 ...
Benjamin J. Spooner. The regiment was attached to 4th Brigade, 5th Division, District of Memphis, Tennessee, XIII Corps,
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, ...
, November 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, District of Memphis, XIII Corps, to December 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Sherman's Yazoo Expedition, to January 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division,
XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) * XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * 15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I *XV Royal Bav ...
,
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 June 1865. The 83rd Indiana Infantry mustered out of service on June 3, 1865.


Detailed service


1862

* Ordered to Memphis, Tennessee and duty there to November 26, 1862. * "Tallahatchie March" November 26-December 13, 1862. * Sherman's Yazoo Expedition December 20, 1862 to January 3, 1863. **
Chickasaw Bayou Chickasaw Bayou is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is a tributary to the Yazoo River. Chickasaw Bayou derives its name from the Chickasaw tribe. The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle ...
December 26–28. **
Chickasaw Bluff The Chickasaw Bluff is the high ground rising about above the Mississippi River flood plain between Fulton in Lauderdale County, Tennessee and Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee. This elevation, shaped as four bluffs, is named for the Chickas ...
December 29.


1863

* Expedition to Arkansas Post, Arkansas, January 3–10, 1863. * Assault and capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Post, January 10–11. * Moved to Young's Point, Louisiana, January 17, and duty there until April. * Black Bayou March 24–25. * Demonstration on Haines' and Drumgould's Bluffs April 29-May 2. * Movement to join army in rear 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, Vic ...
, May 2–14. *
Battle of Champion Hill The Battle of Champion Hill of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confe ...
May 16. *
Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...
May 18-July 4. ** Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. * Advance on Jackson, Mississippi, July 4–10. *
Siege of Jackson The Jackson Expedition, also known as the Siege of Jackson, occurred in the aftermath of the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in July 1863. Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman led the expedition to clear General Joseph E. Johnston ...
July 10–17. * Camp at Big Black to Chattanooga, Tennessee, September 26-November 20. * Operations on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad in Alabama October 20–29. * Cherokee Station, Alabama, October 21. * Bear Creek, Tuscumbia, October 27. *
Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign The Chattanooga campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Major general (United States), Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army, Union Army of the C ...
November 23–27. ** Tunnel Hill November 23–25. **
Missionary Ridge Missionary Ridge is a geographic feature in Chattanooga, Tennessee, site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, a battle in the American Civil War, fought on November 25, 1863. Union forces under Maj. Gens. Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, a ...
November 25. * Pursuit to Graysville November 26–27. * March to relief of Knoxville, Tennessee, November 28-December 8. * Garrison duty in Alabama until May 1864.


1864

* Atlanta Campaign May 1 to September 8, 1864. ** Demonstrations on Resaca May 8–13. ** Near Resaca May 13. **
Battle of Resaca The Battle of Resaca, from May 13 to 15, 1864, formed part of the Atlanta Campaign during the American Civil War, when a Union force under William Tecumseh Sherman engaged the Confederate Army of Tennessee led by Joseph E. Johnston. The battle ...
May 14–15. ** Advance on Dallas May 18–25. ** Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church, and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. ** Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. ** Assault on
Kennesaw Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its 1 ...
June 27. ** Ruff's Mills July 3–4. ** Chattahoochie River July 6–17. **
Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Uni ...
July 22. ** Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. *** Ezra Chapel, Hood's second sortie, July 28. ** Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. **
Battle of Jonesborough The Battle of Jonesborough (August 31–September 1, 1864) was fought between Union Army forces led by William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate forces under William J. Hardee during the Atlanta Campaign in the American Civil War. On the first ...
August 31-September 1. ** Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. * Operations in northern Georgia and northern Alabama against Hood September 29-November 3. * Turkeytown and Gadsden Road, Alabama, October 25. * "March to the Sea" November 15-December 10. * Siege of Savannah, Georgia, December 10–21. *
Fort McAllister Fort McAllister was a Confederate earthen-work fort used to defend Savannah, Georgia during the American Civil War. It was the southernmost of the forts defending Savannah and was involved in the most battles. It was located on the Ogeechee River ...
December 13.


1865

*
Campaign of the Carolinas The campaign of the Carolinas (January 1 – April 26, 1865), also known as the Carolinas campaign, was the final campaign conducted by the United States Army (Union Army) against the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater. On January 1 ...
January to April, 1865. ** Cannon's Bridge, South Edisto River, South Carolina, February 8. ** Orangeburg February 11–12. ** North Edisto River February 12–13. ** Columbia February 16–17. **
Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj. ...
, North Carolina, March 19–21. ** Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. ** Advance on Raleigh April 10–14. ** Occupation of Raleigh April 14. ** Bennett's House April 26. ** Surrender of Johnston and his army. * March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Virginia, April 29-May 20. *
Grand Review of the Armies The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in the ...
May 24.


Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 284 men during service; 5 officers and 56 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 3 officers and 220 enlisted men died of disease.


Commanders

* Colonel Benjamin J. Spooner *
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 N. Craw - commanded during the Carolinas Campaign * Captain Charles W. White - commanded during the Carolinas Campaign


Notable members

* Private Clinton Lycurgus Armstrong, 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. ...
— Participating in a diversionary "
forlorn hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the kill zone of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defende ...
" attack on Confederate defenses, 22 May 1863. * Private Thomas A. Blasdel, Company H - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Private John Wesley Conaway, Company C - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Private Joseph Frantz - Company E - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Private Jacob H. Overturf - Company K - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Private Reuben Smalley, Company F - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Corporal
William Steinmetz William Steinmetz (September 2, 1847, in Newport, Kentucky – June 10, 1903) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Vicksburg, ...
, Company G - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Private Frank Stolz, Company G - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Sgt. Fredrick Neu, second great grandfather of
Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he w ...


See also

*
List of Indiana Civil War regiments List of military units raised by the state of Indiana during the American Civil War. Artillery units Cavalry ''Note: Cavalry regiments also had infantry designations.'' * 1st Indiana Cavalry Regiment (28th Infantry) * 2nd Indiana Cavalry ...
*
Indiana in the Civil War Indiana, a state in the Midwest, played an important role in supporting the Union during the American Civil War. Despite anti-war activity within the state, and southern Indiana's ancestral ties to the South, Indiana was a strong supporter of th ...


Notes


References

* * Grecian, Joseph. ''History of the Eighty-Third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry for Three Years with Sherman: Compiled from the Regimental and Company Books, and Other Sources, as Well as from the Writer's Own Observations and Experience'' (Cincinnati, OH: J. F. Ulhorn), 1865. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


83rd Indiana Infantry monument at Vicksburg





FamilySearch: 83rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry


{{Indiana in the Civil War Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Indiana 1862 establishments in Indiana