The Regular Army of the United States succeeded the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional land-based military force. In modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army. From the time of the American Revolution until after the Spanish–American War, state militias and volunteer regiments organized by the states supported the smaller Regular Army of the United States. These volunteer regiments came to be called United States Volunteers (USV) in contrast to the Regular United States Army (USA). During the American Civil War, about 97 percent of the Union Army was United States Volunteers.
The 7th Illinois Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is today's Massachusetts National Guard evolved through many different forms. Originally founded as a defensive militia for Puritan colonists in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the militia evolved into a highly organized and armed fighting force. The Massachusetts militia served as a central organ of the New England revolutionary fighting force during the early American Revolution and a major component in the Continental Army under George Washington.
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.
The 26th New York Cavalry Regiment was a volunteer cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized under special authority of the War Department, to serve on the northern frontier of New England and New York for one year. It was created in response to the St. Albans raid, which occurred on October 19, 1864. The regiment never saw any combat before it was mustered out on July 7, 1865.
The 6th New Jersey Infantry Regiment was regiment of infantry from New Jersey that served in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.
The Veteran Reserve Corps was a military reserve organization created within the Union Army during the American Civil War to allow partially disabled or otherwise infirm soldiers to perform light duty, freeing non-disabled soldiers to serve on the front lines.
The 19th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Three companies formerly with Col. Elmer Ellsworth's Zouave Cadets wore a zouave uniform consisting of a dark blue zouave jacket with red trimmings, red pants, leather gaiters, a sky blue shirt, red sash, and a red French styled kepi with a dark blue band. The jacket cuffs were trimmed in yellow-orange and red. Brass buttons went down both fronts of the jacket. They were organized into four separate companies on May 4, 1861, in Chicago. It was consolidated and mustered into Federal service as the 19th Illinois Volunteer Infantry on June 17, 1861. It was mustered out at Chicago on July 9, 1864.
George Maltby Love was a colonel in the Union Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in the American Civil War.
Alexander Shaler was a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg. After the war, he was at various times the head of the New York City Fire Department, president of the National Rifle Association, and Mayor of Ridgefield, New Jersey, from 1899 to 1901.
The 1st Louisiana Native Guard was a Confederate Louisianan militia that consisted of Creoles of color. Formed in 1861 in New Orleans, Louisiana, it was disbanded on April 25, 1862. Some of the unit's members joined the Union Army's 1st Louisiana Native Guard, which later became the 73rd Regiment Infantry of the United States Colored Troops.
The military uniforms of the Union Army in the American Civil War were widely varied and, due to limitations on supply of wool and other materials, based on availability and cost of materials. The ideal uniform was prescribed as a dark blue coat with lighter pants, with a black hat. Officer's ranks were denoted with increasing levels of golden decoration. Specific jobs, companies, and units had markedly different styles at times, often following European customs such as that of the Zouaves. Officers uniforms tended to be highly customized and would stray from Army standard. Ironically, several main pieces of gear had been created by order of the U.S. War Secretary Jefferson Davis before the war; he later became Confederate President.
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.
The First Corps of Cadets of Massachusetts formed in 1741. Its motto is Monstrat Viam - "It Points the Way." While it has served in several wars, the sub-unit's primary contribution to Massachusetts and to the United States was as an officer-producing institution for new regiments from the Revolutionary War through World War II.
Calvin Fillmore was an American farmer and politician from New York. He served as coroner of Erie County, New York and a member of the New York State Assembly, and is best known as the uncle of President Millard Fillmore.
The 82nd New York Infantry Regiment, the "Second Militia," "Second Regiment N. Y. S. Light Infantry," or "State Guards", was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 1st Pennsylvania Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War that served for three months at the beginning of the war.
The 5th Georgia Volunteer Infantry was organized on May 11, 1861, and surrendered on April 26, 1865. They were formed from 10 Companies in 1861 to be first posted in Florida under General Bragg, where they received their training. Their first combat assignment was on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Florida. The assault on the Island resulted in a victory and early experience for the regiment. Following this, the regiment was posted in early 1862 to Knoxville, Tennessee, and Corinth, Mississippi. They were ordered to move on Shiloh in April but arrived too late to participate in the battle. The regiment fought in and around Corinth until the end of May, when they were ordered to participate in the Invasion of Kentucky. Following that failure they were reassigned to battle in Murfreesboro. This proved devastating to the 5th Georgia, where they received 32% casualties along with their Colonel and the regimental battle flag. Following this defeat the regiment pulled back to Shelbyville, Tennessee, where it remained until they went to participate in the Tullahoma Campaign.
The United States Zouave Cadets was a short-lived zouave unit of the Illinois militia that has been credited as the force behind the surge in popularity of zouave infantry in the United States and Confederate States in the mid-19th century. The United States Zouave Cadets were formed by Elmer Ellsworth in 1859 from the National Guard Cadets of Chicago, established three years earlier. The unit's 1860 tour of the eastern United States popularized the distinctive zouave appearance and customs, directly and indirectly inspiring the formation of dozens of similar units on the eve of the American Civil War.
