The 16th New York Infantry Regiment (or 1st Northern New York Regiment) was an volunteer infantryregiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.[1] This regiment fought in critical battles like the First Battle of Bull Run, Gaines Mill, and Chancellorsville. While this regiment was only active for two years, from 1861 to 1863, it became known for its notable headwear, which included straw hats, making it more easily identified.
The 16th New York Infantry was organized by company in small towns and the regiment was assembled in Albany, New York, originally under the name "1st Northern New York Infantry.[2][3][4][5][6] The regiment mustered in for two years of service as the 16th New York Infantry on May 15, 1861,[2] under the command of ColonelThomas A. Davies. This regiment recruited about 1,247 men, most of whom came from northern New York state.[5] Among the enlisted men, the youngest member was 18 years old and the oldest was 45 years old.[7]
The regiment was attached to the 2nd Brigade, 5th Division, Army of Northeastern Virginia from June 1861 to August 1861; Heintzelman's Brigade, Division of the Potomac to March 1862; Slocum's Brigade, Franklin's Division, I Corps to May 1862; 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, VI Corps to May 1863.[9]
The regiment was originally armed with model 1840 muskets. In July 1861 the state of New York replaced these with Pattern 1853 Enfieldrifle muskets.[2] By the time of the Battle of Chancellorsville, Ordinance Dept. records show that the companies of the 16th were armed with a mixture of 1855 Springfield, 1861 Springfield and 1853 Enfield rifled muskets.[10]
Service
The 16th New York at the Battle of Frayser's FarmThe 16th New York retreats with the Union Army after the Battle of Gaines's Mill
Mustered in at Albany, May 15, 1861, the regiment went into camp near Bethlehem and left the state for Washington on June 26. To Alexandria on July 11, from there to Manassas, where it was engaged but a very short time on the 21st and returned immediately after to Alexandria. On September 15, 1861, to Fort Lyon. The winter of 1861-62 was passed at Camp Franklin. Ordered to Catlett's Station April 6, 1862, but at once returned to camp; then ordered to Yorktown, where it arrived on May 3. In 1862 Major Joel J. Seaver of the regiment presented the members of the regiment with straw hats.[2]
By the 18th of May, 1861 the companies of the 16th began squad and company drills at the Industrial School Barracks in Albany, NY. They practiced drills and the manual of arms for six hours a day except on Sundays. As a volunteer regiment, the officers were as inexperienced as the enlisted men, using their copies of Hardees Tactics for guidance and training the men.[11]
On June 15th, while in camp at Normand's Kill in Bethlehem, New York, the regiment was issued 150 Model 1840 Springfield muskets, and the men received their uniforms, notably first pattern New York State Jackets made by Brooks Brothers who were contracted by the New York State government to manufacture uniforms for volunteers. The morale of the regiment greatly improved upon receiving the new uniforms.[11]
The regiment was in action at West Point, and at Gaines Mill, its loss being over 200 killed and wounded. Their straw hats stood out on the battlefield, making them targets for Confederate guns.[2] The regiment was present through the remainder of that week of battle, but was not closely engaged, then encamped at Harrison's Landing until August 16, 1862, when it returned for a brief period to Alexandria. In the Battle of Crampton's Gap the regiment was in the battle field and lost heavily and was held in reserve at Antietam; at Fredericksburg was posted on picket duty, and after the battle went into winter quarters near Falmouth. It shared the hardships and discomforts of the Mud March under Burnside and was active in the Battle of Chancellorsville, with a loss at Salem Church of 20 killed, 87 wounded and 49 missing. A few days were next spent at Banks' Ford, then a short time in the old camp at Falmouth, and on May 22, 1863, the regiment was mustered out at Albany. During its term of service, its loss was 112 men killed or mortally wounded and 84 deaths from other causes. The three years men were transferred to the 121st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment.[5]
Casualties
Savage Station, Va. Field hospital after the battle. June 30, 1862 (Gibson, James F., photographer: note the straw hats worn by the wounded.)
The regiment lost a total of 213 men during service including five officers and 124 enlisted men either killed or mortally wounded and one officer and 83 enlisted men who died of diseases.[13] Of the 38 New York regiments, except the Fifth, the 16th New York Infantry Regiment lost the most men among all the other regiments who served for the same length and time.[14] Furthermore, a total of 111 men passed away due to serious wounds, with 107 of them being enlisted men and 4 of them were officers.[14] An estimated 86 men died from imprisonment, disease, and accidents with 1 officer and 85 enlisted men passing away.[14]
Corporal John S. Lyon of Co. A, 16th New York Infantry Regiment, and Corporal Melvin Tucker of Co. C, 16th New York Infantry Regiment, in uniforms holding torn flags, photographed by J.H. Abbott between 1861 and 1863
Women's contributions
While the regiment consisted of men, numerous women assisted those on the battlefield by providing for and tending to the fighting men. In his 1906 monograph, From Bull Run to Chancellorsville, Newton Martin Curtis, a Union officer, notes that females contributed significantly to the medical care of the regiment in this regard. Mrs. Charles W. Woolsey Howland is among of these notable women who managed to provide hospitals "...with clothing and delicacies at the beginning of the war."[16] Additionally, there were the efforts of Mrs. Howland and her sister (who goes unnamed by Curtis). Mrs. Howland was noted to have even saved a gentleman's arm from being amputated.[16] Thanks to Mrs. Howland, "...Wells kept his arms and carried them to his grave, thirty seven years later." [16] Last mentioned by Curtis is Miss Helen Gilson, who was noted to have kept an organized space for the injured on a "steamer" (boat or ship) despite the cramped conditions. Curtis fondly remembered Miss Gilson as a woman whose presence alone had quite the calming effect on the men in these less-than-ideal conditions.[16]
Curtis also mentions the discrimination faced by women and nurses by surgeons, which was a male-dominated profession at the time. Despite these unpleasantries faced by the women, Curtis claims that they endured this discrimination for the sole purpose of helping the sick and dying of the regiments. This earned them the vast praises of Curtis, writing, "Their persistence was crowned with full acknowledgement of the importance of the essential need of women nurses in hospitals."[16]
The 1st New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 2nd New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It is also known as the Troy Regiment.
The 4th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It is also known as the 1st Scott's Life Guard.
The 7th New York Infantry Regiment, later reorganized at the 7th Veteran Infantry Regiment, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was composed almost entirely of German immigrants and is also known as the Steuben Guard or the Steuben Regiment. It should not be confused with the 7th New York Militia, an entirely different regiment whose service overlapped with the 7th New York Volunteers.
The 39th New York Infantry Regiment, known as the "Garibaldi Guard" after the Italian revolutionary, Giuseppe Garibaldi, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 18th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was a Union regiment that fought in the American Civil War.
The 70th New York Infantry Regiment was one of five infantry regiments formed by former U.S. Congressman Daniel Sickles and established as part of the Excelsior Brigade which fought with the Union Army during multiple key engagements of the American Civil War, including the Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Overland campaigns. Leaders from the 70th New York recruited men from New Jersey, as well as from cities and small towns across the State of New York.
The 10th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was also known as the McChesney Zouaves or National Guard Zouaves.
The 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry was a Union Army cavalry regiment that served in the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the Shenandoah during the American Civil War. It was formed in 1861 as the Philadelphia Light Cavalry and the 70th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers by Richard H. Rush who also served as colonel from 1861 to 1862. At the request of Major General George B. McClellan, the regiment was equipped with lances which prompted the unit to be known as "Rush's Lancers." The lances proved ineffective in battle and the regiment was issued carbine rifles in 1863. The regiment served in many of the key battles in the Eastern theater of the American Civil War and were mustered out in August 1865.
The 34th New York Infantry Regiment, the "Herkimer Regiment", was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 14th New York Infantry Regiment was a New York infantry regiment, active for two years from May 1861 to May 1863 during the American Civil War. The regiment was part of the Union Army, and was raised primarily from Oneida County, with some companies also raised from Onondaga County; Columbia County; and Lewis County.
The 72nd New York Infantry Regiment was one of five infantry regiments formed by former U.S. Congressman Daniel Sickles and established as part of the Excelsior Brigade which fought with the Union Army during multiple key engagements of the American Civil War, including the Chancellorsville Campaign in Virginia, the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, and the Overland Campaign. Leaders from the 72nd New York recruited men from New Jersey, as well as from cities and small towns across the State of New York.
The 66th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 1st Company Massachusetts Sharpshooters was a sharpshooter unit in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 16th Massachusetts was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War formed of volunteers from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The 12th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 49th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 154th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War.
The 33rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 17th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
↑ "Record Group 156: Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordinance-Summary Statements of Charterly Returns of Ordinance and Ordinance Stores on Hand in Regular and Volunteer Army Organizations, 1862-1867, 1870-1876," (M1281, Rolls 1,2 and 4). National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. Transcribed by Eric J. Mink
Johnson, Robert Underwood; Buel, Clarence Clough (1887). Robert Underwood Johnson; Clarence Clough Buel (eds.). The Tide Shifts. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: Being for the Most Part Contributions by Union and Confederate officers: Based upon "The Century War Series". Vol.III. New York City: The Century Company. p.778. OCLC48764702. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
"16th Infantry Regiment: Roster". New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs. 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
