11th New York Infantry Regiment
| 11th Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry | |
|---|---|
 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment on the heights opposite the Washington Navy Yard | |
| Active | May 7,1861 – June 2,1862 |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | Union |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Infantry |
| Size | 1,200 |
| Part of | Wilcox's Brigade, Heintzelman's Division, McDowell's Army of Northeast Virginia |
| Nickname(s) | Ellsworth Zouaves or First Fire Zouaves |
| Engagements | First Battle of Bull Run Peninsula Campaign |
| Commanders | |
| First Commander | Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth |
| Second Commander | Col. Noah L. Farnham |
| Third and Final Commander | Col. Charles M. Leoser |
| Acting Commander | Lt. Col. Joseph E. MacFarland |
| Insignia | |
| Colors of the 11th New York | File:11thInfReg.jpg |
The 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that fought with the Union Army in the early years of the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in New York City in May 1861 by Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, a personal friend of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.[1] Drawn from the ranks of the city's many volunteer fire companies, the unit was known alternately as the Ellsworth Zouaves, First Fire Zouaves, First Regiment New York Zouaves, and U.S. National Guards.[1]
The unit was among the first to occupy the territory of a Confederate state, when it captured Alexandria, Virginia on May 24, 1861, less than 24 hours after the Commonwealth seceded from the Union. The regiment suffered extensive casualties while serving as the rear guard for the retreating Union army during the First Battle of Bull Run. After several failed attempts to reorganize, the regiment was mustered out of service on June 2, 1862.
Organization and muster
Like most of the volunteer regiments organized at the start of the Civil War, the 11th New York Infantry was established in response to a call from President Lincoln for 74,000 90-day enlistments to defend and support the Union against the Confederacy.[2] The 11th New York Infantry was organized to serve "for the war" (certainly beyond 90 days) by Elmer E. Ellsworth, a friend and supporter of Lincoln who helped to organize his campaign for the presidency in 1860.[2]
Ellsworth came by his military knowledge from his short time spent as a cadet at the United States Military Academy and later as Colonel of Chicago's National Guard Cadets. Ellsworth introduced this drill team to the flashy Zouave uniforms and drill that emulated French colonial troops in Algeria and turned the group, renamed the U.S. Zouave Cadets, into a national champion drill team. A national tour in 1860 brought Ellsworth to the attention of Abrahan Lincoln, for whom the unit performed hundreds of flashy movements with their muskets and bayonets.[3]
When a civil war seemed unavoidable, Ellsworth proceeded to New York City to recruit his own regiment from the city's volunteer fire companies, stating: "I want the New York Firemen, for there are no more effective men in the country, and none with whom I can do so much. They are sleeping on a volcano at Washington and I want men who can go into a fight now".[4] Two days after his arrival, Ellsworth awarded officer commissions to several foremen of the volunteer fire companies and began recruiting in earnest.
Early news reports covered the regiment's formation, with one reporting:
More work has been done in six days than seemed possible. The men have been mustered into service; the officers elected; the uniforms made, and on Sunday afternoon eleven hundred as efficient and hardy soldiers as ever handled a gun, will start for the scene of rebellion. Col. Ellsworth arrived in this city on Thursday of last week. On Friday he called together a number of the principal men of the department. On Saturday he selected his officers. On Sunday he mustered one thousand men. On Monday he drilled them.[5]
Before the regiment departed from New York City on April 29, 1861, its members marched through the streets, receiving several regimental colors along the way. At the close of the parade, the regiment boarded the steamer Baltic, bound for Annapolis, Maryland before marching to Washington, D.C.[5]
Early action
Template:11thInfantryRegiment The regiment arrived in Washington, D.C., on May 2. There, they completed additional training and performed picket duty throughout the District. Five days later, they were officially mustered into Federal service. On May 9, the regiment's members had an opportunity to apply their experience as firefighters, when they helped extinguish a blaze at the Willard Hotel.[6] Within weeks of the incident, the regiment was dispatched for combat duty. When the Commonwealth of Virginia ceded from the Union on May 23, the regiment was ordered to assist in the occupation of Arlington Heights and Alexandria, Virginia, directly across the Potomac River from Washington.[4] On May 24, the regiment was one of eight to enter Virginia, and Ellsworth's men met no resistance as they moved through the streets of Alexandria.[7]
Some members of the regiment took the railroad station, while Ellsworth and several others set out to secure the telegraph office. On the way there, one of Ellsworth's men spotted a Confederate flag atop the Marshall House.[2] Ellsworth's group entered the inn and quickly cut down the flag, but they encountered the proprietor, James Jackson, as they descended the stairs. Jackson killed Ellsworth with a shotgun blast to the chest, and Cpl. Francis Brownell responded in kind by fatally shooting the innkeeper.[4]
The regiment remained on duty in and around Alexandria until July 16, 1861, when it was attached to Wilcox's Brigade, Heintzelman's Division, in Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell's Army of Northeast Virginia. From July 16 to July 21, the regiment advanced towards Manassas to participate in the first large-scale land battle of the Civil War.
First Bull Run
The Zouaves first major combat experience occurred during the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21. While attached to Wilcox's Brigade, the regiment marched with the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the 14th Regiment, New York State Militia, and two batteries of cannon, led by Charles Griffin and James B. Ricketts, to cover the Union right flank. The two regiments found themselves confronting the 33rd Virginia Infantry of the Stonewall Brigade on the left of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson's line. The units had massed at the top of Henry House Hill, having been ordered to assault the Confederate line.[8] Given that the units were uncertain of the other's identity, they hesitated. This confusion resulted from the fact that the 11th New York was dressed in gray, while the Virginians had not been outfitted with uniforms and were thus wearing civilian clothes. Both sides soon opened fire, and the Union regiments supporting the cannon fell back to the Manassas-Sudley Road.[9]
When the order to withdraw from the field came later that evening from General Irvin McDowell, the 11th New York served as a rearguard. It was during this retreat that the regiment saw its heaviest casualties. Although accounts of the battle differ, 35 men were killed, over 70 were wounded, and another 70 were missing and presumed captured. Those who were taken prisoner were initially confined in Richmond, where they distinguished themselves for their foul conduct. Many of these men were eventually sent to Castle Pinckney, South Carolina, where they remained until they were sent home the following May.[4]
Following the disaster at Bull Run in late fall, the remaining members of the unit were sent back to New York City to obtain equipment and replacements. By late winter, they were back in Virginia. On March 8, 1862, they watched from shore as the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia dueled off the coast of Hampton Roads. Two members of the regiment were detailed to the nearby USS Cumberland and manned its cannons until they were forced to abandon ship.[4] With manpower further depleted as a result of injury and disease, the regiment was returned to New York City on May 7. There, it was mustered out of service on June 2, 1862.
The Draft Riots and disbanding
On May 18, 1863, Colonel James C. Burke received authority to reorganize the original regiment as a three-years regiment to be known as the J. T. Brady Light Infantry. Burke was required to raise 250 men for the effort, but failed. His authorization was revoked on June 7 and transferred to Colonel Henry F. O'Brien. O'Brien was required to raise 250 men by August 1, 250 others by September 1, and an additional 250 men by November 1.[10] These recruiting efforts were hampered by the draft riot in New York City of July 1863.
As the 11th New York Regiment had learned, the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 took a heavy toll on Union forces, including those from New York City. As the war dragged on, a military manpower shortage occurred in the Union. Congress passed the first conscription act in United States history on March 3, 1863, authorizing the President to draft citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 for a three-year term of military service.[11]
Initially intended to express anger at the draft, the protests deteriorated into "a virtual racial pogrom, with uncounted numbers of blacks murdered on the streets".[12] The conditions in the city were such that Major General John E. Wool stated on July 16, "Martial law ought to be proclaimed, but I have not a sufficient force to enforce it".[13]
States militias and Federal troops attached to the Army of the Potomac, including the 11th New York Infantry were dispatched to quell the riots. The 11th was one of several regiments utilized, including the 152nd New York Volunteers, the 26th Michigan Volunteers, the 27th Indiana Volunteers and the 7th Regiment New York State Militia from Frederick, Maryland, after a forced march. In addition, the governor sent in the 74th and 65th regiments of the New York state militia, which had not been in federal service, and a section of the 20th Independent Battery, New York Volunteer Artillery from Fort Schuyler in Throgs Neck. At the height of the violence, Colonel O'Brien, the 11th Regiments commanding officer, was seized by the mob, beaten, and killed.
In the wake of the riots, the reorganization produced few recruits and was stalled.[1] On October 1, 1863, the reorganization was discontinued and the men, then enlisted, were transferred to the 17th Veteran Infantry Regiment.[1]
Casualties
During its limited but intense combat experience, the regiment lost 51 members, including three officers and 48 enlisted men. Among these was the regiment's first commander, Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, who was the first conspicuous casualty of the Civil War.[2] Private Francis E. Brownell became the first soldier in the Civil War to be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in killing Col. Ellsworth's murderer.[14]
Following Ellsworth's death, Remember Ellsworth! became a Union rally cry and the 44th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment took the name Ellsworth's Avengers, under the command of Stephen W. Stryker, a former lieutenant in the 11th New York.[15]
Apart from those who died of battle wounds, three officers and 12 enlisted men succumbed to disease. A total of 66 men of the 11th New York Infantry Regiment died in the course of the war.[16]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d "11th Infantry Regiment during the Civil War". New York State Military Museum. Retrieved 2007-12-03. Cite error: The named reference "names" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c d "American Civil War: First Shots". Kennedy Hickman. Retrieved 2007-12-04. Cite error: The named reference "medalofhonor" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Elmer Ellsworth". Aldie's Civil War Weekly. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ a b c d e "Tiger! Zouave!". Marc A. Hermann and Shaun C. Grenan. Retrieved 2007-12-04. Cite error: The named reference "secession" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "11th Infantry Regiment, New York: Civil War Newspaper Clippings". New York State Military Museum. Retrieved 2007-12-04. Cite error: The named reference "newclippings" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Elmer Ellsworth (1837-1861)". The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ "Fragment of Confederate flag cut down by Colonel Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth, 1861". Smithsonian Institution Press. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ "The Battle of 1st Manassas". Dick Weeks. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ "First Bull Run: An Overview". United States Army. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ^ "11th Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, Historical Sketch from the 3rd Annual Report of the Bureau of Military Statistics". New York State Military Museum. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ^ Rhodes, James Ford (1899). History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850. Macmillan. pp. p. 320-323.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Foner, E. (1988). Reconstruction America's unfinished revolution, 1863-1877. The New American Nation series. Page 32. New York: Harper & Row.
- ^ "Maj. Gen. John E. Wool Official Reports (OR) for the New York Draft Riots". Shotgun's Home of the American Civil War. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ "New York Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients". NYGenWeb. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ^ "The 44th NY Volunteer Infantry". Martha S. Magill, Rootsweb. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ "11th Infantry Regiment Battles and Casualties". New York State Military Museum. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
References
- The Civil War Archives: Union Regimental Histories: New York
- Phisterer, Frederick, Distant drums: Herkimer County, New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1865, J.B. Lyon Co., Albany, New York: 1912, ISBN 0-925-16842-4
- The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal States 1861-65 - Records of the Regiments in the Union Army - Cyclopedia of Battles - Memoirs of Commanders and Soldiers, Federal Publishing, Madison, Wisconsin: 1908.