The 24th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an 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...

 that served in the 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...

 during 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...

.

Service

The 24th Kentucky Infantry was organized at Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

 and mustered in for a three year enlistment on December 31, 1861.

The regiment was attached to 21st Brigade, Army of the Ohio

Army of the Ohio

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.-History:...

, to January 1862. 21st Brigade, 6th Division, Army of the Ohio, to September 1862. 21st Brigade, 6th Division, II Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Left Wing, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland

Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...

, to December 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of Kentucky, Department of the Ohio

Department of the Ohio

The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.General Orders No...

, to January 1863. 1st Brigade, District of Central Kentucky, Department of the Ohio, to June 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XXIII Corps, Army of the Ohio, to July 1863. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XXIII Corps, to August 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXIII Corps, to December 1864. Louisa, Kentucky, Military District of Kentucky, to January 1865.

The 24th Kentucky Infantry mustered out of service at Lexington, Kentucky January 31, 1865.

Detailed service

Moved to Louisville, Ky., January 1, 1862; thence to Bardstown, Spring Garden (on Salt River), Lebanon and Munfordville, Ky. March to Nashville, Tenn., February 17–25. March to Savannah, Tenn., March 21-April 6. Battle of Shiloh April 7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29-May 30. Pursuit to Booneville May 31-June 12. Buell's Campaign in northern Alabama and middle Tennessee June to August. March to Nashville, Tenn.; thence to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg, August 21-September 20. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–22. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 22-November 7. Ordered to Frankfort, Ky., November 24 and duty there until January 1863. Moved to Louisville, Ky.: thence to Nashville, Tenn. Owing to smallpox breaking out on boat, the regiment was quarantined above Nashville until February; then moved to Winchester, Ky., and duty there until March. At Mt. Vernon and Wild Cat engaged in outpost duty until June. Moved to Lancaster, thence to Camp Nelson, Ky. Burnside's March over Cumberland Mountains and campaign in eastern Tennessee August 16-October 17. Carter's Depot September 20–21. Jonesboro September 21. Watauga September 25. Knoxville Campaign November 4-December 23. Siege of Knoxville November 17-December 5. Armstrong's Hill November 25. Longstreet's assault on Fort Saunders November 29. Blain's Cross Roads December 17. Operations about Dandridge January 16–17. 1864. Strawberry Plains January 22. Operations in eastern Tennessee until April. Moved to Cleveland, Tenn., and Red Clay, Ga. Atlanta Campaign May to September. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton May 8–13. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Cartersville May 20. Battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Near Marietta June 1–9. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Muddy Creek June 17. Noyes' Creek June 20. Cheyney's Farm June 22. Olley's Creek June 26–27. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Nickajack Creek July 2–5. Chattahoochie River July 6–17. Isham's Ford, Chattahoochie River, July 8. Decatur July 19. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Utoy Creek August 5–7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Near Rough and Ready August 31. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. At Decatur until October. Ordered to Lexington, Ky., and duty there until January 1865.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 207 men during service; 2 officers and 28 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 3 officers and 174 enlisted men died of disease.

See also

• List of Kentucky Civil War Units
• Kentucky in the Civil War
  Kentucky in the Civil War
  Kentucky was a border state of key importance in the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln recognized the importance of the Commonwealth when he declared "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky." In a September 1861 letter to Orville Browning, Lincoln wrote "I think to lose...