The 6th Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry (3 Months) 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...

 from the State of Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 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...

. This regiment was the senior Indiana regiment of the Civil War, as it was numbered first in sequence after the five Indiana volunteer regiments which had served in the Mexican–American War

Mexican–American War

The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

.

Service

The companies of the 6th Indiana Volunteer Infantry were raised in different parts of the state and organized at Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 between April 22 and April 27, 1861. The companies' counties of origin included Jefferson

Jefferson County, Indiana

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 32,428. The county seat is Madison.-History:Jefferson County was formed in 1811...

, Bartholomew

Bartholomew County, Indiana

Bartholomew County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana, and determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to include the mean center of U.S. population in 1900. As of 2010, the population was 76,794...

, Daviess

Daviess County, Indiana

Daviess County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 31,648. The county seat is Washington. Daviess County switched to the Central Time Zone on April 2, 2006. It has returned to the Eastern Time Zone as of November 4, 2007.- History :Daviess County was...

, Howard

Howard County, Indiana

Howard County is one of 92 counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Kokomo, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Howard and Tipton counties. Originally named Richardville County, it was rechristened in 1844 to commemorate General Tilghman Ashurst Howard. As of...

, Henry

Henry County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 48,508 people, 19,486 households, and 13,971 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 20,592 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...

, Jennings

Jennings County, Indiana

Jennings County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 28,525. The county seat is Vernon.-History:...

, Jackson

Jackson County, Indiana

Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 42,376. The county seat is Brownstown.-History:...

, and Hamilton

Hamilton County, Indiana

Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. Census 2010 recorded a population of 274,569. The county seat is Noblesville....

. The Regiment was officially mustered into United States service for a period of three months on April 25, 1861.

On the May 30, 1861, the regiment left Indianapolis, by way of Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, for Grafton, Virginia

Grafton, West Virginia

Grafton is a city in, and county seat of, Taylor County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 5,489 at the 2000 census. The only two national cemeteries in West Virginia are located in Grafton. Mother's Day was founded in Grafton on May 10, 1908; the city is the home to the International Mother's...

 (now West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

). Sent on to the town of Webster

Webster, West Virginia

Webster is an unincorporated community in Taylor County, West Virginia, United States. It lies four miles south of Grafton. Its elevation is 1,019 feet above sea level.- History :...

, they arrived on June 2 and marched 14 miles (22.5 km) that same night to Philippi

Philippi, West Virginia

Philippi is a city in — and the county seat of — Barbour County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 2,870 at the 2000 census. In 1861, the city was the site of the Battle of Philippi, known as "The Philippi Races"...

. On the morning of June 3, the 6th Indiana participated in the Battle of Philippi, one of the first land battles of the Civil War. They later participated in the Rich Mountain Campaign

Battle of Rich Mountain

The Battle of Rich Mountain took place on July 11, 1861, in Randolph County, Virginia as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War.-Background:...

.

The regiment mustered out of service on August 2, 1861. Among its line officers was Captain Jeremiah C. Sullivan

Jeremiah C. Sullivan

Jeremiah Cutler Sullivan was an Indiana lawyer, antebellum United States Navy officer, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was among a handful of former Navy officers who later served as infantry generals during the war.-Early life and career:Jeremiah C....

, who would later rise to the rank of brigadier general

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

.

Total strength and casualties

The total strength of the 6th Indiana Infantry at the time of its organization was 782 men, including 37 commissioned officers.

The regiment suffered no casualties in battle, but 3 enlisted men died of disease and one member of the regiment was captured by the enemy and later exchanged.