15th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment

15th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
State of Massachusetts · Public domain · source
Unit name	15th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
Dates	July 1861 – July 1864
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Garrison	Boston, Massachusetts
Notable commanders	Colonel William F. Bartlett; Colonel Charles R. Codman

Contents

15th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an Union Army volunteer regiment formed in Massachusetts during the American Civil War that served in the Army of the Potomac and participated in major campaigns from 1861 through 1864, including Peninsula Campaign, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. The regiment recruited primarily from Boston and surrounding communities and was noted for its service under leaders such as William F. Bartlett and its involvement in actions connected to commanders like George B. McClellan and Ambrose Burnside.

Formation and Recruitment

Organized at Readville, Massachusetts and mustered in July 1861, the 15th Massachusetts drew volunteers from Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and towns such as Cambridge, Massachusetts, Somerville, Massachusetts, and Lowell, Massachusetts. Recruitment occurred amid calls from Governor John A. Andrew and federal authorities in the wake of First Battle of Bull Run; organizers capitalized on abolitionist networks linked to figures like Frederick Douglass and civic leaders associated with Massachusetts General Hospital and local militia units like the Boston Light Infantry. Early training involved drilling on fields near South Boston and coordination with the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia system before transfer to the Department of Washington and attachment to brigades forming the Army of the Potomac.

After mustering, the regiment moved to Washington, D.C. for defenses and was assigned to the II Corps and later brigades under generals such as James S. Wadsworth and John Sedgwick. During the Peninsula Campaign the 15th Massachusetts served in operations around Yorktown, Virginia and Seven Pines, operating under the strategic direction of George B. McClellan and engaging in siege and reconnaissance missions. In the autumn campaigns of 1862 the regiment participated in the Maryland Campaign under George McClellan and later fought in Antietam within formations commanded by officers like Joseph Hooker. Through 1863 the regiment served through Chancellorsville and Gettysburg Campaign era movements, experiencing brigade reassignments and garrison duties around Fredericksburg, Virginia and the Rappahannock River. In 1864 the 15th joined Ulysses S. Grant's coordinated operations and took part in the Overland Campaign under generals including George G. Meade before mustering out in July 1864 with many veterans transferring to other Massachusetts units.

The regiment's combat record includes action at Siege of Yorktown (1862), Battle of Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, and subsequent fighting during the Seven Days Battles such as Gaines' Mill and Malvern Hill. During the Maryland Campaign the 15th Massachusetts fought at South Mountain and Antietam, participating in assaults on Confederate positions linked to commanders like A. P. Hill and Stonewall Jackson. In December 1862 they engaged in the Battle of Fredericksburg alongside units under Ambrose Burnside, and in spring 1863 saw operations during the Chancellorsville Campaign facing elements commanded by Robert E. Lee. Elements of the regiment were active in the tactical environment leading into the Gettysburg Campaign and later took part in the Overland Campaign including fights connected to Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House as part of Union offensive drives against entrenched Confederate forces.

Initial field leadership included Colonel William F. Bartlett, a prominent Massachusetts figure who had previously commanded volunteer units and later became a symbol of wartime sacrifice; Bartlett's wounding and convalescence led to command shifts to officers such as Colonel Charles R. Codman and Lieutenant Colonel Edward W. Hincks. The regiment was organized into Companies A–K with captains and lieutenants drawn from towns including Brockton, Massachusetts, Waltham, Massachusetts, and Newton, Massachusetts. It served in brigades alongside regiments like the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and 23rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry under divisional and corps structures commanded by generals such as Henry W. Slocum and Daniel Sickles at various times. Staff officers included adjutants and surgeons connected to institutions like Massachusetts General Hospital and volunteers who corresponded with political leaders including Governor John A. Andrew.

The 15th Massachusetts suffered casualties from combat, disease, and wounds consistent with regimental service in the Eastern Theater, with losses recorded at major engagements such as Antietam and Fredericksburg and during the attritional operations of 1864 under Ulysses S. Grant. Surviving veterans participated in postwar organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic and commemorated service at monuments and veterans' reunions in Boston and at battlefields including Antietam National Battlefield and Fredericksburg National Military Park. The regiment's legacy is preserved in state archives held by the Massachusetts Archives and in personal papers linked to figures like William F. Bartlett, which inform scholarship in works by historians researching units from Massachusetts in the American Civil War and broader studies of the Army of the Potomac and Union volunteer infantry service.

Category:Units and formations of the Union Army from Massachusetts