The 3rd Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry 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...

 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 3rd Rhode Island Infantry was organized at Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

 in August 1861.

The regiment left Rhode Island for Fort Hamilton

Fort Hamilton

Historic Fort Hamilton is located in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst, and is one of several posts that are part of the region which is headquartered by the Military District of Washington...

, New York Harbor, September 7, 1861, then moved to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, September 14-16, returning to Fort Hamilton September 22. Moved to Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...

, Virginia, October 12-14. It was attached to Sherman's South Carolina Expeditionary Corps. Participated in the expedition to Port Royal, South Carolina

Port Royal, South Carolina

Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...

, October 28-November 7. Capture of Fort Walker and Fort Beauregard, Port Royal Harbor, November 7.

The 3rd Rhode Island Infantry ceased to exist on December 19, 1861 when it was changed to 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery.

See also

• List of Rhode Island Civil War units
• Rhode Island in the American Civil War
  Rhode Island in the American Civil War
  The state of Rhode Island during the American Civil War, as with all of New England, remained loyal to the Union. Rhode Island furnished 25,236 fighting men to the Union Army, of which 1,685 died. On the home front, Rhode Island, along with the other northern states, used its industrial capacity to...
  
  
• Battery A, 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery
  Battery A, 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery
  Battery A, 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery was a heavy artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:...