12th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment

Last updated
12th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
Fletcher Webster memorial.jpg
Memorial on the Manassas National Battlefield Park to Colonel Fletcher Webster, original commander of the 12th Massachusetts Infantry
ActiveJune 14, 1861July 8, 1864
CountryFlag of the United States (1861-1863).svg  United States of America
Allegiance Union
Branch Union Army
Type Infantry
Size1,522
Part ofIn 1863: 2nd Brigade (Baxter's), 2nd Division (Robinson's), I Corps, Army of the Potomac
Nickname(s)"Webster Regiment"
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Colonel Fletcher Webster
Colonel (later Brigadier General) James L. Bates
Insignia
I Corps badge (2nd Division) Icorpsbadge2.png


The 12th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. It was formed on June 14, 1861, in Boston, Massachusetts. Its original commander was Colonel Fletcher Webster, son of the famed U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Daniel Webster. The unit was known as the Webster Regiment after its first colonel. [1]

Contents

Organization and early duty

Col. Webster began recruiting in April 1861 shortly after the attack on Fort Sumter. At that time, most recruits in Massachusetts were used to fill up the ranks in the existing state militia regiments, therefore it was several weeks before Webster had managed to recruit a full regiment. The unit was trained at Fort Warren in Boston harbor. [1] On July 19, 1861, the regiment was reviewed by Governor John Albion Andrew on Boston Common and presented with its colors. On July 23, the 12th Massachusetts departed Boston for the war front. [2]

The regimental surgeon was Jedediah Hyde Baxter, son of Congressman Portus Baxter. J. H. Baxter later served as Surgeon General of the United States Army. [3]

The regiment was first assigned to the Army of the Shenandoah under the command of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks. Until the spring of 1862, the regiment was employed in uneventful picket duty in the vicinity of Frederick, Maryland. [4] In late February, the 12th Massachusetts, as part of Brigadier General John Abercrombie's brigade, moved into Virginia. On April 18, 1862, while on picket duty along the Rappahannock River the men of the 12th Massachusetts exchanged sporadic fire with Confederates on the other side of the river. This was the first time the unit was engaged in hostile fire. [4]

At the Battle of Antietam, the regiment lost 67% of its strength, or 224 of 334 men. It was the highest percentage casualty rate of any Union regiment in the battle. [5]

Notable members

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Bowen, 219.
  2. Bowen, 220.
  3. University of Vermont Alumni Association, University of Vermont Obituary Record, Volume 1, 1895, page 121
  4. 1 2 Bowen, 222.
  5. "The Dead of Antietam". 24 September 2012.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> African-American Union Army unit of the Civil War (1863–65)

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment, organized in the Northern states during the Civil War. Authorized by the Emancipation Proclamation, the regiment consisted of African-American enlisted men commanded by white officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">28th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 28th Massachusetts Infantry regiment was the second primarily Irish American volunteer infantry regiment recruited in Massachusetts for service in the American Civil War. The regiment's motto was Faugh a Ballagh

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts in the American Civil War</span> Union state in the American 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. This, in turn, increased sectionalism in the North and South, one of the factors that led to the war. Politicians from Massachusetts, echoing the views of social activists, further increased national tensions. The state was dominated by the Republican Party and was also home to many Radical Republican leaders who promoted harsh treatment of slave owners and, later, the former civilian leaders of the Confederate States of America and the military officers in the Confederate States Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fletcher Webster</span> American diplomat and Union Army officer

Daniel Fletcher Webster was an American diplomat and Union Army officer. He was the son of Daniel Webster, the 14th and 19th U.S. Secretary of State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">22nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> American Civil War regiment of the Union Army

The 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. The 22nd Massachusetts was organized by Senator Henry Wilson and was therefore known as "Henry Wilson's Regiment." It was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, and established on September 28, 1861, for a term of three years.

The 53rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment recruited in Massachusetts for service in the American Civil War. The volunteers, mostly farmers, predominantly hailed from north-central Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a military unit from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, part of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. It is also known as "The Fighting Ninth". It existed from 1861 to 1864 and participated in several key battles during the war. The unit is an Irish heritage unit, with many volunteers having been born in Ireland.

The 62nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment being raised to serve in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The war ended before the unit was complete.

The 61st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment raised for one year's service in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1864 to 1865.

James Lawrence Bates was a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War who was awarded the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general after the war. He was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and, in civilian life, was a merchant in the leather trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur F. Devereux</span> United States Army general (1838–1906)

Arthur Forrester Devereux was a captain in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia prior to the Civil War and a colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War. He is notable for his expertise and proficiency in the instruction of military drill. During the Battle of Gettysburg, the 19th Massachusetts Infantry, under his command, played an important role in filling a breach in the Union lines during Pickett's Charge. After his active service had concluded, Devereux was awarded the honorary rank of brevet brigadier general, United States Volunteers, by appointment of President Andrew Johnson on February 21, 1866, to rank from March 13, 1865, and confirmation by the U.S. Senate on April 10, 1866.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">32nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 32nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the regiment was a battalion of six companies raised in September 1861 to garrison Fort Warren, the largest fortification in Boston harbor. The battalion was originally known as the 1st Battalion Massachusetts Infantry or the Fort Warren Battalion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 2nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Major George H. Gordon, a West Point graduate and veteran of the Mexican–American War, organized the unit's recruitment and formation. The 2nd Massachusetts was trained at Camp Andrew in West Roxbury, Massachusetts on the site of the former Transcendentalist utopian community, Brook Farm. Roughly half the regiment was mustered in on May 18, 1861 and the remainder on May 25, 1861 for a term of three years. The regiment saw extensive combat as part of the Army of the Potomac particularly during the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg.

Joseph Cushing Edmands was a volunteer soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War who attained the grade of colonel and in 1866 was awarded the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 11th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Organized in Boston in May 1861, the 11th Massachusetts Infantry was made up mostly of men from Boston, but also from Charlestown and Dorchester. The leading force behind the formation of the regiment was its first colonel, George Clark Jr., who had been an officer in the Massachusetts state militia. The regiment was known as the "Boston Volunteers."

DeWitt Clinton Baxter (1829–1881) was an American artist and engraver. He also served as colonel and brevet brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">13th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War

The 13th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was formed on July 16, 1861, at Fort Independence in Boston, Massachusetts. Its original commander was Colonel Samuel H. Leonard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jedediah Hyde Baxter</span> US Army officer

Jedediah Hyde Baxter was a career United States Army officer and doctor who attained the rank of brigadier general as Surgeon General of the United States Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">42nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 42nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of infantry that served two tours in the Union Army during the American Civil War. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">57th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 57th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of infantry that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was one of the four "Veteran Regiments" raised in Massachusetts during the winter of 1863–64. Recruits of these regiments were required to have served at least nine months in a prior unit. Colonel William F. Bartlett, at age 24 already a veteran of three regiments, organized the recruiting and formation of the 57th Massachusetts and served as its first commanding officer.

References