The 5th Kentucky Infantry Regiment, unofficially known as the Louisville Legion 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 5th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was mustered into the service at

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, 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 ...

Lovell Harrison Rousseau. Recruits to the 5th Kentucky Infantry were promised a pay of $11–$21 a month, in addition to clothes and lodging. After a year's enlistment, they were promised of land. Although a recruitment station was placed at the corner of 8th Street and Main Street in Louisville, the actual training took place across the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

at Camp Joe Holt, in present-day

Clarksville, Indiana Clarksville is a town in Clark County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River and is a part of the Louisville Metropolitan area. The population was 22,333 at the 2020 census. The town was founded in 1783 by early resident George Rogers Cla ...

.Sarles, Jane. ''Journeys Through Clarksville's Past'' (2006), pp. 76–7. On July 1, 1861, 334 recruits were shipped to Camp Joe Holt as the first company. On September 17, 1861, the regiment left Camp Joe Holt, to stop

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 ...

forces from approaching Louisville. The regiment was attached to Rousseau's 1st Brigade, McCook's Command, at Nolin to November 1861. 4th 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 December 1861. 4th Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of the Ohio, to September 1862. 4th Brigade, 2nd Division,

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Right 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, 2nd Division, XX Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, IV Corps, to July 1864. Unattached, 4th Division, XX Corps, to September 1864. The 5th Kentucky Infantry mustered out of service on July 25, 1865.

Detailed service

Moved to Muldraugh's Hill, Kentucky, September 17, 1861, and duty there until October 14. Duty at Bacon Creek and Green River until February 1862. Marched to Nashville, Tennessee, February 17-March 3; then marched to Savannah, Tennessee, March 16-April 6. Battle of Shiloh, April 6–7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Mississippi, April 29-May 30. Bridge Creek May 27. Duty at Corinth until June 10. Buell's Campaign in northern Alabama and middle Tennessee June to August. Marched to Louisville, Kentucky, in pursuit of Bragg August 21-September 26. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–15. Dog Walk, Kentucky, October 8–9. Marched to Nashville, Tennessee, October 16-November 7, and duty there until December 26. Kimbrough's Mills December 6. Advance on Murfreesboro, Tennessee, December 26–30. Nolensville December 26–27. Battle of Stones River December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863. At Murfreesboro until June. Tullahoma Campaign June 22-July 7. Liberty Gap June 22–27. Occupation of middle Tennessee until August 16. Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga Campaign August 16-September 22. Battle of Chickamauga, September 19–20. Siege of Chattanooga September 24-November 23. Reopening Tennessee River October 26–29. Brown's Ferry October 27. Battles of Chattanooga November 23–25. Orchard Knob November 23–24. Missionary Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26–27. Marched to relief of Knoxville November 28-December 8. Campaign in eastern Tennessee December 1863 to April 1864. Atlanta Campaign May 1 to July 25. Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton May 5–13. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Adairsville May 17. Near Kingston May 18–19. Near Cassville May 19. Advance on Dallas May 22–25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church, and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Pickett's Mills May 27. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station, Smyrna Camp Ground, July 4. Pace's Ferry July 5. Chattahoochie River July 6–17. Peachtree Creek July 19–20. Siege of Atlanta July 22–25. Ordered to Nashville, Tennessee, July 25; then to Louisville, Kentucky. Veterans moved to Nashville July 25 and duty there until January 1865. Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, December 15–16. Pursuit of Hood December 17–28. Moved to Louisville, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, and Hilton Head, South Carolina, and rejoined Sherman at Raleigh, North Carolina, April 1865. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. Marched to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Virginia, April 29-May 19.

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. Moved to Louisville, Kentucky, June.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 302 men during service; 8 officers and 149 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 143 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Lovell Harrison Rousseau * Colonel Harvey M. Buckley - resigned January 26, 1863 * Colonel William W. Berry

Legacy

The Louisville Legion nickname was derived from an earlier Kentucky militia unit that was first constituted on January 21, 1839, in Louisville, and was mustered into federal service for the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, from May 17, 1846, as the 1st Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It saw action in the

Battle of Monterey The Battle of Monterey, at Monterey, California, occurred on 7 July 1846, during the Mexican–American War. The United States captured the town unopposed. Prelude In February 1845, at the Battle of Providencia, the Californio forces had ouste ...

. On May 17, 1847, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, it was mustered out. Of the regiment's service during the Civil War, Gen.

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

wrote, "No single body of men can claim more honor for the grand result than the officers and men of the Louisville Legion of 1861."Kleber, John. ''Encyclopedia of Louisville'', p. 558 Ten years after the Civil War the Louisville Legion would again organize as the Kentucky State Guard's 1st Regiment of Infantry. In this incarnation it would take part in the French Eversole Feud and the

Rowan County War The Rowan County War, located in Rowan County, Kentucky, centered in Morehead, Kentucky, was a feud that took place between 1884 and 1887. In total, 20 people died and 16 were wounded.Pearce, John Ed. ''Days of Darkness: The Feuds of Eastern Kentu ...

. In the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

it would be the first unit from Kentucky to reach

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. Afterwards it would maintain the peace around

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...

, after the assassination of Governor

William Goebel William Justus Goebel (January 4, 1856 – February 3, 1900) was an American Democratic politician who served as the 34th governor of Kentucky for four days in 1900, having been sworn in on his deathbed a day after being shot by an assassin. ...

, and then patrol the Mexican border. The 138th Field Artillery and 149th Armor Brigade of the

Kentucky National Guard The Kentucky National Guard comprises the: *Kentucky Army National Guard *Kentucky Air National Guard See also * Kentucky Active Militia, the state defense force of Kentucky which replaced the Kentucky National Guard during World War I and World ...

are directly descended from the Louisville Legion.

Footnotes

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. ;Attribution *

External links

Alphabetical roster of the 5th Kentucky taken from Thomas Speed's ''Union Regiments of Kentucky''

5th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry U.S web Site

History of the First Regiment of Infantry, the Louisville Legion..1907
{{Kentucky in the Civil War Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Kentucky 1861 establishments in Kentucky