37th United States Colored Infantry Regiment

Last updated
37th United States Colored Infantry
ActiveFebruary 8, 1864 - February 11, 1867
Country United States
Allegiance Union
Branch Infantry
Engagements Siege of Petersburg
Battle of Chaffin's Farm
Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road
First Battle of Fort Fisher
Second Battle of Fort Fisher
Carolinas Campaign
Battle of Wyse Fork

The 37th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.

Infantry military personnel who travel and fight on foot

Infantry is a military specialization that engages in military combat on foot, distinguished from cavalry, artillery, and tank forces. Also known as foot soldiers or infanteers, infantry traditionally relies on moving by foot between combats as well, but may also use mounts, military vehicles, or other transport. Infantry make up a large portion of all armed forces in most nations, and typically bear the largest brunt in warfare, as measured by casualties, deprivation, or physical and psychological stress.

Regiment Military unit

A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country and the arm of service.

Union Army Land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic.

Contents

Service

The 37th U.S. Colored Infantry was organized February 8, 1864 from the 3rd North Carolina Colored Infantry for three-year service under the command of Colonel Nathan Goff, Jr.

Colonel (United States) Military rank of the United States

In the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, colonel is the most senior field grade military officer rank, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general. It is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in the other uniformed services. By law, a colonel must have at least 22 years of cumulative service and a minimum of three years as a lieutenant colonel before being promoted. The pay grade for colonel is O-6.

Nathan Goff, Jr. was a Union Army officer from Rhode Island during the American Civil War.

The regiment was attached to U.S. Forces, Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to April 1864. 1st Brigade, Hincks' Colored Division, XVIII Corps, Army of the James, to June 1864. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, X Corps, to July 1864. Unattached, Army of the James, to August 1864. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, XVIII Corps, to December 1864. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXV Corps, to January, 1865. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Terry's Provisional Corps, Department of North Carolina, to March 1865. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, X Corps, Department of North Carolina, to August 1865. Department of the South, to February 1867.

The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863 it was formed by the merging of two previously existing departments: the Department of Virginia and the Department of North Carolina. In 1865 the two departments were once again separated.

XVIII Corps (Union Army) 1862-1864 Union Army formation

XVIII Corps was a North Carolina corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Army of the James unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War

The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.

The 37th U.S. Colored Infantry mustered out of service February 11, 1867.

Detailed service

Duty at Norfolk and Portsmouth, Va., until April 1864. Expedition to Westmoreland County April 12–14. Butler's operations on the south side of the James River and against Petersburg and Richmond May 4-June 15. Capture of Fort Powhatan May 5. Duty there and at Wilson's Wharf until September 28. Moved to Deep Bottom September 28–29. Battle of Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 29–30. Battle of Fair Oaks October 27–28. In the trenches before Richmond until December 7. 1st Expedition to Fort Fisher, N.C., December 7–27. 2nd Expedition to Fort Fisher January 7–15, 1865. Bombardment of Fort Fisher January 13–15. Assault and capture of Fort Fisher January 15. Sugar Loaf Hill January 19. Federal Point February 11. Fort Anderson February 18–20. Capture of Wilmington February 22. Northeast Ferry February 22. Carolinas Campaign March 1-April 26. Advance on Kinston and Goldsboro March 6–21. Cox's Bridge March 23–24. Advance on Raleigh April 9–14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. Duty at various points in North Carolina and in the Department of the South until February 1867.

Commanders

See also

United States Colored Troops African American soldiers for the Union in the American Civil War

The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served with the units. They were first recruited during the American Civil War, and by the end of that war in April 1865, the 175 USCT regiments constituted about one-tenth of the manpower of the Union Army. About 20% of USCT soldiers died, a rate about 35% higher than that for white Union troops. Despite heavy casualties, many fought with distinction, 15 USCT soldiers receiving the Medal of Honor and numerous others receiving other honors.

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References

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Attribution

The public domain consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable.

Frederick H. Dyer Soldier, writer

Frederick Henry Dyer served as a drummer boy in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he wrote A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion – a complete record of every regiment formed under the Union Army, their histories, and the battles they fought in – taking forty years to compile.

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