The 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in Worcester, Massachusetts and mustered into service on August 23, 1861. By the end of its three years of service, the 21st had been reduced from 1,000 men to fewer than 100.
About 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in brief
The 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in Worcester, Massachusetts and mustered into service on August 23, 1861. After garrison duty at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the regiment served with the Coast Division commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The 21st was a favorite of Clara Barton, the famed battlefield nurse, who was also from Worcester County, Massachusetts. By the end of its three years of service, the 21st had been reduced from 1,000 men to fewer than 100. Those of the 21th who chose to re-enlist at the. end of their initial three-year commitment were eventually consolidated with the 36th Massachusetts Infantry. Regiment was among the \”three year regiments\” organized after the First Battle of Bull Run. The majority of the companies were from. Worcester County with nearly every town in that county represented on the regiment’s rolls. The first commanding officer was Col. Augustus Morse, who had been a major general in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia prior to the war. The men of 21st assisted in the escape of a slave belonging to Maryland Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks. While the slave was hidden in one of the Naval Academy barracks, Governor Hicks’s repeated demands for his return were refused by the officers of the regiment. On December 20, 1861, the officers refused to return and the chimney of the barracks was blown up by a musketeer.
The next day, the U.S. Naval Academy was taken over by the Army of the Potomac and the regiment moved to Annapolis. It was a comfortable post. Maj. William S. Clark wrote that the regiment was “delightfully situated, enjoying the very romance of war.’’ The regiment suffered 35 percent casualties in the Battle of Chantilly, fought on September 1, 1862, during which the unit suffered 35 per cent casualties. The unit was armed with inferior smoothbore muskets that had been converted from flintlock to percussion lock. The Regiment was selected by Brig. Gen. Jesse Reno for brigade. Lt. Col. Albert Maggi, an Italian Italian, was the first member of the brigade to lead the brigade and later led their brigade in the IX Corps of which the 21 st was a part. The soldiers of the 19th Regiment of Massachusetts were the first to serve in the Civil War and were called on to fight in the First and Second Battles of Gettysburg in 1863 and the Second Battle of Antietam in 1864. The most devastating engagement of the war for the 21St was the Battle. of Bull run on July 21, 1861, when 152 were killed in action or died from wounds received in action, and approximately 400 were discharged due to wounds, 69 were taken prisoner, and about 300 were discharged. In May 1864,. the regiment rejoined the Army. of the potomac, participating in Ulysses Grant’s Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg.
You want to know more about 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment?
This page is based on the article 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
