1st Regiment Delaware Volunteer Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 1st Regiment Delaware Volunteer Infantry was a United States
volunteer
infantry
regiment
raised for Union Army
service in the American Civil War
. For part of the war, it was a part of the famed Gibraltar Brigade
.
. With this drastic shortage of men in the army, President Abraham Lincoln
called on the states to raise a force of 75,000 men for three months to put down the insurrection in the South. Accordingly, the 1st Delaware was raised at Wilmington, Delaware
on May 22, 1861 and mustered into Federal service on May 28. The regiment comprised 37 officers and 742 enlisted men under the command of Colonel
Henry H. Lockwood. The regiment was attached to the command of Major General
John Dix
('Dix's Command", Department of the Potomac) and assigned to duty along the line of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
. The regiment mustered out on August 30, 1861.
authorized a volunteer army of 500,000 men. A "new" 1st Regiment of Delaware Volunteers was raised at Wilmington, Delaware
between September 10 and October 19, 1861. The regiment served throughout the war and suffered 12 officers and 146 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 118 enlisted men killed by disease. The regiment mustered out of Federal service on July 12, 1865 with 37 officers and 846 enlisted men under the command of Colonel John W. Andrews.
while serving with the 1st Delaware. At the Battle of Antietam, Second Lieutenant Charles B. Tanner of Company H earned the medal by saving the regimental flag after the entire nine-man color guard was killed or wounded. Tanner himself was wounded three times in the battle. During the Battle of Gettysburg the next year, two soldiers, Private Bernard McCarren of Company C and Private John B. Maberry
of Company F, were awarded the medal for capturing Confederate battle flags. Another man, Captain James Parke Postles of Company A, received the medal for voluntarily carrying a message under heavy fire at Gettysburg.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
volunteer
Military volunteer
A military volunteer is a person who enlists in military service by free will, and is not a mercenary or a foreign legionaire. Volunteers often enlist to fight in the armed forces of a foreign country. Military volunteers are essential for the operation of volunteer militaries.Many armies,...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
raised for Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
service 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...
. For part of the war, it was a part of the famed Gibraltar Brigade
Gibraltar Brigade
The "Gibraltar Brigade" was a famed infantry brigade within the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Noted for its tenacity in combat, the brigade drew its nickname from the steadfastness of the Rock of Gibraltar...
.
May - August 1861
When the Civil War began in April 1861, there were only about 16,000 men in the U.S. Army, and many Southern soldiers and officers were already resigning and joining the new Confederate States ArmyConfederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
. With this drastic shortage of men in the army, President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
called on the states to raise a force of 75,000 men for three months to put down the insurrection in the South. Accordingly, the 1st Delaware was raised at Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
on May 22, 1861 and mustered into Federal service on May 28. The regiment comprised 37 officers and 742 enlisted men under the command of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Henry H. Lockwood. The regiment was attached to the command of Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
John Dix
John Adams Dix
John Adams Dix was an American politician from New York. He served as Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, and the 24th Governor of New York. He was also a Union major general during the Civil War.-Early life and career:...
('Dix's Command", Department of the Potomac) and assigned to duty along the line of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
. The regiment mustered out on August 30, 1861.
September 1861 - July 1865
The war proved to be longer and larger than anyone had expected, and on July 22, 1861, the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
authorized a volunteer army of 500,000 men. A "new" 1st Regiment of Delaware Volunteers was raised at Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
between September 10 and October 19, 1861. The regiment served throughout the war and suffered 12 officers and 146 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 118 enlisted men killed by disease. The regiment mustered out of Federal service on July 12, 1865 with 37 officers and 846 enlisted men under the command of Colonel John W. Andrews.
1862
- Camp HarrisonCamp HarrisonCamp Harrison was one of several Union Army training posts in Hamilton County, Ohio, established during the American Civil War.In early 1861, Governor William Dennison ordered the creation of a new military camp six miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio, on the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad,...
, Virginia (part of the Fortress Monroe garrison) -- until May - Occupation of Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
-- May 10 - Battle of AntietamBattle of AntietamThe Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
-- September 16-17 - Garrison of Harpers Ferry -- September 22-October 30
- Movement to Falmouth, VirginiaFalmouth, VirginiaFalmouth is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U.S...
-- October 30-November 17 - Battle of 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...
--December 12-15
1863
- Mud MarchMud MarchMud March can refer to:*Mud March — In the American Civil War, an abortive Union attempt at a winter offensive in January 1863....
-- January 20-22 - Falmouth, Virginia—January-April
- Battle of 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...
-- May 1-6 - Gettysburg Campaign—June-July
- Battle of 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...
-- July 1-3 - Pursuit of LeeRobert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
to Manassas GapManassas GapManassas Gap is a wind gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border of Fauquier County and Warren County in Virginia. At an elevation of 887 feet above sea level, it is the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the state....
-- July 5-24 - Duty of line of the RappahannockRappahannock-Military:*Battle of Rappahannock Station I, a battle in the American Civil War*Battle of Rappahannock Station II, a battle in the American Civil War-Places:*Rappahannock River, a river in eastern Virginia...
and Rapidan RiverRapidan RiverThe Rapidan River, flowing through north-central Virginia in the United States, is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River. The two rivers converge just west of the city of Fredericksburg...
-- July-October - Blackburn's FordBlackburn's FordBlackburn's Ford was the crossing of Bull Run by Centreville Road between Manassas and Centreville, Virginia, in the United States. It was named after the original owner of the Yorkshire Plantation , Col. Richard Blackburn, formerly of Yorkshire, England...
-- October 15 - Mine Run Campaign -- November 26-December 2
Medal of Honor
Four men were awarded the Medal of HonorMedal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
while serving with the 1st Delaware. At the Battle of Antietam, Second Lieutenant Charles B. Tanner of Company H earned the medal by saving the regimental flag after the entire nine-man color guard was killed or wounded. Tanner himself was wounded three times in the battle. During the Battle of Gettysburg the next year, two soldiers, Private Bernard McCarren of Company C and Private John B. Maberry
John B. Maberry
John B. Maberry was an American Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from Smyrna, Delaware, who served in the United States Army as a sergeant in Company F of 1st Delaware Infantry...
of Company F, were awarded the medal for capturing Confederate battle flags. Another man, Captain James Parke Postles of Company A, received the medal for voluntarily carrying a message under heavy fire at Gettysburg.
See also
- Lists of American Civil War Regiments by State
- 1st Delaware Regiment1st Delaware RegimentThe 1st Delaware Regiment was raised on December 9, 1775 for service with the continental army under the command of Colonel John Haslet. The regiment would see action during the New York Campaign, Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown and the Battle of...
-- a Delaware regiment from the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
External links
- Gettysburg battlefield monument to Lieut. Col. Edward P. Harris
- Delaware Blues historical reenactors