The
18th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
regiment that fought in the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. It was formed, primarily, with men of the
BristolBristol County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, adjacent to the state of Rhode Island. As of 2005, the population was estimated at 546,331. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, others by the county, and others by local towns and...
,
NorfolkNorfolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 650,308. Its county seat is Dedham. It is the 48th highest income county in the United States with a per capita income of $32,484...
and
PlymouthPlymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 472,822. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton. In 1685 the County was created by the Plymouth General Court.-Geography:According to the U.S...
counties of
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
with a 3 year enlistment period. The regiment originally consisted of 10 companies, band and regimental staff.
The regiment was established in August 1861 and fought as part of the
Army of the PotomacThe Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
, taking part in most of the major battles of the Peninsula - until it disbanded in September 1864.
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The
18th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
regiment that fought in the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. It was formed, primarily, with men of the
BristolBristol County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, adjacent to the state of Rhode Island. As of 2005, the population was estimated at 546,331. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, others by the county, and others by local towns and...
,
NorfolkNorfolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 650,308. Its county seat is Dedham. It is the 48th highest income county in the United States with a per capita income of $32,484...
and
PlymouthPlymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 472,822. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton. In 1685 the County was created by the Plymouth General Court.-Geography:According to the U.S...
counties of
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
with a 3 year enlistment period. The regiment originally consisted of 10 companies, band and regimental staff.
The regiment was established in August 1861 and fought as part of the
Army of the PotomacThe Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
, taking part in most of the major battles of the Peninsula - until it disbanded in September 1864. Men, who reenlisted or still had time left on their enlistment, were transferred to the 32nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
After the war
An association of the 18th Massachusetts Veterans was formed and met yearly. Through the efforts of Lieutenant Amasa Guild, the group was able to retrieve the State Colors in 1905 from the
Museum of the ConfederacyThe Museum of the Confederacy is located in Richmond, Virginia. The museum includes the former White House of the Confederacy and maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts and photographs from the Confederate States of America and the American Civil War .- White House of the...
. The Colors had been lost in the
Second Battle of Bull RunThe Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederacy, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against...
in 1862 and captured.
The association attempted to put together an official history of the regiment but was never able to agree on it and abandoned the project.
Battles
- Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederacy, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against...
- Shepardstown
The Battle of Shepherdstown, also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford, took place September 19–20, 1862, in Jefferson County, Virginia , at the end of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War.-Background:...
- Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, 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, is remembered as one of the most...
- Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville and the area from there to the east at Fredericksburg. The battle pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Army...
- Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of...
- Rappahannock Station
- Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
- Spottsylvania
- Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor, the final battle of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in a hopeless frontal assault...
- Petersburg
- Weldon Railroad
Notable members and leaders
- Frederick C. Anderson
Frederick C. Anderson was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, and orphaned at a young age, Anderson was adopted by a farming family in rural Raynham...
- Awarded the Medal of Honor for the Capture of battle flag of 27th South Carolina (C.S.A.) and the color bearer during the Battle of Weldon Railroad.
- James Barnes (General) – Original Commanding officer of the regiment and Division Commander during the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Benjamin Franklin DeCosta
Benjamin Franklin DeCosta or de Costa was an American clergyman and historical writer.-Biography:He was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1856 at the Biblical Institute at Concord, New Hampshire , became a minister in the Episcopal Church in 1857, and during the next three years...
– Proficient writer and Chaplin to the regiment. Although an Episcopalian during the war, he would later convert to Roman Catholicism.
External links