20th New York Infantry Regiment

Last updated
20th New York Infantry Regiment
Flag of New York (1778-1901).svg
ActiveApril 29, 1861, to May 6, 1861 (New York State Service) and May 6, 1861, to June 1, 1863 (United States Service)
CountryFlag of the United States (1861-1863).svg  United States
Allegiance Union
Branch Infantry
Engagements Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries
Battle of White Oak Swamp
Battle of South Mountain
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Salem Church

The 20th New York Infantry Regiment, the "Turner Rifles", was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Contents

Service

The 20th New York Volunteer Infantry, also known as the "Turner Rifles," was recruited primarily in New York City, although several companies of the regiment were formed in upstate New York or New Jersey. [1] The vast majority of recruits came from the various German-American Turner societies, with the largest number coming from New York City's Kleindeutschland neighborhood. [2] The regiment was mustered into federal service for two years on May 6, 1861. After training in Manhattan's Turtle Bay Park, the unit left New York for Fortress Monroe, Virginia, on June 14, 1861. They departed with much fanfare, including a parade from Kleindeutschland to their transport ship and the presentation of both an American flag and the Black-Red-Gold flag of Germany's democratic revolutionaries, as well as a guide flag with the motto Bahn Frei ("Clear the Way"). [3] To the dismay of the enlisted men, in whom was ingrained the German tradition of marksmanship, the regiment was issued with smoothbore muskets, though these would be replaced by rifles in 1862. [4]

The Turners were renowned as good entertainers. For the 4th of July celebration in 1861, the regiment put several much-praised concerts, with improvised lighting displays and 50 barrels of lager. [5] The Turners were also known to hold gymnastic performances, and their choral singing was popular even among Yankee soldiers. [6]

While stationed at Fortress Monroe, General Benjamin Butler commanded a joint army-navy expedition to capture Confederate Forts Hatteras and Clark. In the ensuing Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, a mixed amphibious force led by the 20th New York's commander, Colonel Max Weber, accepted the surrender of the two forts. The landing was a botched affair, in which high seas prevented the majority of the invasion force from landing and left a mere 318 men stranded on shore with inadequate provisions. [7] The ensuing Union naval bombardment, however, forced the Confederate garrisons to surrender. The portion of the 20th which had taken part in the invasion remained in the vicinity of Forts Hatteras and Clark for several weeks, until reports reached Major General John Ellis Wool that soldiers from the regiment had committed "depredations and various outrages" on the inhabitants. [8] Other sources suggest that the colonel of the 9th New York blamed the looting on the men of the 20th to protect the reputation of his own regiment, which had also participated. [9]

Ernst von Vegesack in 1863, as colonel of the United Turner Regiment. Ernst von Vegesack.jpg
Ernst von Vegesack in 1863, as colonel of the United Turner Regiment.

On June 9, 1862, the 20th New York was transferred to the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac in preparation for the Peninsula Campaign. The regiment did not engage in pitched battle until the Battle of White Oak Swamp, in which a Confederate artillery bombardment surprised the 20th New York as they were encamped. A significant number of the enlisted men and officers were routed, including the regiment's new commander, Colonel Francis Weiss. [10] As one eyewitness and future Medal of Honor winner in the 7th Maine Infantry remembered, the soldiers of the 20th New York "wore high, conical, black hats, and when they broke and ran the plain was dotted far and wide with their hats and knapsacks. It is a tradition in our regiment that they are running still, and their colonel, who, days before, was talking about the blood he was going to shed, and who certainly led the wild flight several lengths, may not have stopped, for he was never heard from afterwards." [11] Other officers at the brigade and divisional levels, however, reported that much of the regiment, though startled and disorganized, regrouped in the shelter of nearby woods to await the end of the bombardment. [12] In the days following the debacle at White Oak Swamp, nine officers were forced to resign their commissions, and Colonel Ernst von Vegesack was appointed to command the unit. [13] Weiss had been unpopular with his men, whom he considered "socialistic." [9]

Monument to the 20th at Antietam 20TH NEW YORK VOLUNTEER INFANTRY (TURNER RIFLES) MONUMENT, NORTH OF VISITORS CENTER; JUST SOUTH OF NEW YORK STATE MONUMENT - Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, HABS MD,22-SHARP.V,9-51.tif
Monument to the 20th at Antietam

The 20th New York was not engaged in major combat again until the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. The regiment incurred heavy losses, but their performance during the battle earned the unit praise from their superior officers. [14] Their action in checking the final Confederate counterattack near Dunker Church even earned the praise of the observer who had criticized their flight at White Oak Swamp. [15] After the war ended, the veterans of the 20th New York would dedicate two separate monuments to commemorate the actions of the unit at Antietam.

Mutiny

As the 20th New York closed in on the end of its two years of service, questions arose as to whether the two years started from the point at which they were mustered into New York service or United States service. On April 29, 1863, the regiment was engaged in maneuvers which would lead to the Battle of Chancellorsville. When ordered to cross the Rappahannock River, approximately two hundred men refused to do so. [16] The mutineers were quickly tried and convicted for mutiny in the face of the enemy, and sentenced to hard labor. Lobbying efforts by Kleindeutschland elites and the support of Army of the Potomac Provost Marshal Marsena R. Patrick led to their sentence being commuted to dishonorable discharges, although these discharges were converted to honorable discharges by a declaration by the war department and a law passed by Congress in 1905.

The remainder of the regiment crossed the Rappahannock and participated in the Battle of Salem Church, in which the unit incurred higher casualties than at any other battle. [1] The survivors of the regiment returned to New York City and were mustered out on June 1, 1863.

Casualties

Over the course of its service, 61 officers and men were killed or mortally wounded in battle. An additional 58 officers and enlisted men died of disease.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Irish Brigade was an infantry brigade, consisting predominantly of Irish Americans, who served in the Union Army in the American Civil War. The designation of the first regiment in the brigade, the 69th New York Infantry, or the "Fighting 69th," continued in later wars. The Irish Brigade was known in part for its famous war cry, the "Faugh a Ballaugh" which is an anglicization of the Irish phrase, fág an bealach, meaning "clear the way" and used in various Irish-majority military units founded due to the Irish diaspora. According to Fox's Regimental Losses, of all Union army brigades, only the 1st Vermont Brigade and Iron Brigade suffered more combat dead than the Irish Brigade during America's Civil War.

The 14th Indiana Infantry Regiment, called "The Gallant Fourteenth," was an infantry regiment and part of the Union Army's celebrated "Gibraltar Brigade" during the American Civil War. Mustered on June 7, 1861, it was the state's first regiment organized for three years' service. The 14th Indiana served in many major campaigns and battles mostly in the Eastern Theater. During its three years of service, the regiment had a total of 222 casualties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th New York Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 5th New York Infantry Regiment, also known as Duryée's Zouaves, was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. Modeled, like other Union and Confederate infantry regiments, on the French Zouaves of Crimean War fame, its tactics and uniforms were different from those of the standard infantry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Maine Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 3rd Maine Infantry Regiment was mustered in at Augusta, Maine, for three years' service on June 4, 1861, and were mustered out on June 28, 1864. Veterans who had re-enlisted and those recruits still liable to serve were transferred to 17th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Michigan Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 4th Michigan Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 4th Michigan wore a very Americanized zouave uniform. This uniform consisted of a Federal dark blue 4 button sack coat, dark blue chasseur trousers, tan gaiters, and a maroon zouave fez with a light blue tassel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th New York Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th New York Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">39th New York Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">20th Indiana Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 20th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The Regiment was officially raised on July 22, 1861, by William L. Brown, the first Colonel of the Regiment, in response to President Lincoln's call for volunteers. At the time of muster, the regiment had 9 fighting companies lettered A-K along with a staff company for a total of 10 companies, roughly 1000 men. The 20th Indiana saw engagements in most of the major battles of the American Civil War, including the action between the first ironclads at Hampton Roads, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Siege of Petersburg. The Regiment was part of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, III Corps for the duration of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th New York Infantry Regiment</span> Infantry regiment of the Union Army

The 11th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Union Army in the early years of the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in New York City in May 1861 as a Zouave regiment, known for its unusual dress and drill style, by Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, a personal friend of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Drawn from the ranks of the city's many volunteer fire companies, the unit was known alternately as the Ellsworth Zouaves, First Fire Zouaves, First Regiment New York Zouaves, and U.S. National Guards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery Regiment</span> Military unit

The 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Heavy Artillery Regiment was a unit that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was originally raised as the 14th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

The Thirteenth Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, also known as the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles, Kane's Rifles, or simply the "Bucktails," was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Pennsylvania Reserve division in the Army of the Potomac for much of the early and middle parts of the war, and served in the Eastern Theater in a number of important battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25th Virginia Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 25th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of the Northwest and Army of Northern Virginia. Its soldiers saw action from the battle of Philippi until the Appomattox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Texas Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 6th Texas Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment from Texas that served in the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War. The regiment fought in the Battles of Arkansas Post, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">45th New York Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 45th New York Infantry Regiment, also known as the 5th German Rifles, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was composed almost entirely of German immigrants. Formed approximately five months after the start of hostilities, the unit's service spanned almost the entirety of the war, and it saw action in several of the war's noteworthy battles, in both the Eastern and Western Theaters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">61st New York Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 61st New York Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Astor Regiment", was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment</span> Military unit

The 6th Regiment New York Heavy Artillery, U.S. Volunteers, the "Anthony Wayne Guard", was an artillery regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was originally mustered in as the 135th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and served as both artillery and infantry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath</span> US military personnel

Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath was a major in the United States Army who began his 37-year career as a first lieutenant in the 20th Indiana Volunteer Regiment. Gilbreath was involved in numerous battles during the American Civil War, such as Gettysburg and bearing witness to the battle between the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor, the American Indian Wars, in which he helped establish Fort Custer, and the Spanish–American War. Gilbreath is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Etta.

The 4th New Jersey Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Overall, the regiment lost 5 officers and 156 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded and 2 officers and 103 enlisted men to disease during the Civil War. The regiment's first commander, Colonel James H. Simpson, helped lead the 4th N.J through the hardships of the first year of campaigning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">51st New York Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 51st New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 "20th Infantry Regiment :: New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center".
  2. ↑ Selig, I Enlisted on the First Day
  3. ↑ "Departure of the United Turner Rifles – Twentieth Regiment" New York Tribune, June 14, 1861
  4. ↑ Cameron, James L. The Troubled Turners. The Gun Report (magazine) Vol. XXXI, 12/85. pp. 66 – 70.
  5. ↑ Miller, C. Eugene and Forrest F. Steinlage. Der Turner Soldat - A Turner Soldier in the Civil War. Calmar Publications. Louisville, KY. 1988. 118pp.
  6. ↑ Wiley, Bell Irwin. The Life of Billy Yank – The Common Soldier of the Union. Louisiana State University Press. 1952. P. 169.
  7. ↑ Report of Colonel Max Weber, OR, S. I V. 4 Pg. 589-590
  8. ↑ Report of Major General John Ellis Wool, OR S. I V. 4 Pg. 581
  9. 1 2 "20th NYSV". Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  10. ↑ Report of Brigadier General John Davidson, OR, S. I V. 11 Pg. 480-482
  11. ↑ Thomas W. Hyde, Following the Greek Cross, Pg. 73-74
  12. ↑ Meyer, Friedrich. The Narrative of Friedrich Meyer – A German Freiwilliger (Volunteer) in the Army of the Potomac. Translated and edited by Anders Henrikkson. Civil War Regiments vol. 6., pp. 1 – 22. 1998.
  13. ↑ "20th New York Volunteer Infantry - 'Turner Rifles.'" 20thnyvi.weebly.com
  14. ↑ Reports of General William F. Smith and Colonel William H. Irwin, OR, S. I V. 19 Pg. 402-412
  15. ↑ Hyde, 89
  16. ↑ Report Accompanying the Act for the Relief of Certain Enlisted Men of the Twentieth Regiment of New York Volunteer Infantry, 58th Congress, 3rd Session, 1905, HR 1860. Via Kappesser, Gary. "Twentieth New York State Infantry." Accessed March 6, 2015.

Sources

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.