18th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 18th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a Union
regiment that fought in the American Civil War
. It was formed, primarily, with men of the Bristol
, Norfolk
and Plymouth
counties of Massachusetts
with a 3 year enlistment period. The regiment originally consisted of 10 companies, band and regimental staff.
The regiment was established in August 1861 and fought as part of the Army of the Potomac
, taking part in most of the major battles of the Peninsula - until it disbanded in September 1864. Men, who reenlisted or still had time left on their enlistment, were transferred to the 32nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
.
. The Colors had been lost in the Second Battle of Bull Run
in 1862 and captured.
The association attempted to put together an official history of the regiment but was never able to agree on it and abandoned the project.
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
regiment that fought in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It was formed, primarily, with men of the Bristol
Bristol County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 534,678 people, 205,411 households, and 140,706 families residing in the county. The population density was 962 people per square mile . There were 216,918 housing units at an average density of 390 per square mile...
, Norfolk
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...
and Plymouth
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...
counties of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
with a 3 year enlistment period. The regiment originally consisted of 10 companies, band and regimental staff.
The regiment was established in August 1861 and fought as part of the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
, taking part in most of the major battles of the Peninsula - until it disbanded in September 1864. Men, who reenlisted or still had time left on their enlistment, were transferred to the 32nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
32nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
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...
.
After the war
An association of the 18th Massachusetts Veterans was formed and met yearly. Through the efforts of Lieutenant Amasa Guild, the group was able to retrieve the State Colors in 1905 from the Museum of the ConfederacyMuseum of the Confederacy
The Museum of the Confederacy is located in Richmond, Virginia. The museum includes the former White House of the Confederacy and maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts, Confederate imprints , and photographs from the Confederate States of America and the American Civil War...
. The Colors had been lost in the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
in 1862 and captured.
The association attempted to put together an official history of the regiment but was never able to agree on it and abandoned the project.
Battles
- Second Battle of Bull RunSecond Battle of Bull RunThe Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
- ShepardstownBattle of ShepherdstownThe Battle of Shepherdstown, also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford, took place September 19–20, 1862, in Jefferson County, Virginia , at the end of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War.-Background:...
- FredericksburgBattle of FredericksburgThe Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
- ChancellorsvilleBattle of ChancellorsvilleThe Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
- GettysburgBattle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
- Rappahannock Station
- WildernessBattle of the WildernessThe Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
- Spottsylvania
- Cold HarborBattle of Cold HarborThe Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864 . It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles...
- Petersburg
- Weldon RailroadBattle of Globe TavernThe Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the Siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under...
Notable members and leaders
- Frederick C. AndersonFrederick C. AndersonFrederick C. Anderson was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, and orphaned at a young age, Anderson was adopted by a farming family in rural Raynham...
- Awarded the Medal of Honor for the capture of battle flag of 27th South Carolina (C.S.A.) and the color bearer during the Battle of Wilmington and Weldon RailroadWilmington and Weldon RailroadOriginally chartered in 1835 as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad name began use in 1855. At the time of its 1840 completion, the line was the longest railroad in the world with 161.5 miles of track...
. - James Barnes (General) – Original Commanding officer of the regiment and Division Commander during the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Benjamin Franklin DeCostaBenjamin Franklin DeCostaBenjamin Franklin DeCosta or de Costa was an American clergyman and historical writer.-Biography:He was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1856 at the Biblical Institute at Concord, New Hampshire , became a minister in the Episcopal Church in 1857, and during the next three years...
– Proficient writer and Chaplin to the regiment. Although an Episcopalian during the war, he would later convert to Roman Catholicism.
See also
- List of Massachusetts Civil War units
- Massachusetts in the Civil WarMassachusetts in the Civil WarThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts played a significant role in national events prior to and during the American Civil War. Massachusetts dominated the early antislavery movement during the 1830s, motivating activists across the nation. This, in turn, increased sectionalism in the North and South,...