"Re enlistment of units into Veteran Regts/Btns" Topic

Hi,
I am trying to get info re the above subject but my limited library and the internet are not very helpful(not asking the right question)?
I believe that approx. 60% reenlisted,was there something about if a certain % of a Regt did so it kept its name,flags etc.
If amalgamated what flags etc would they have carried ?
I know this is a difficult subject but any help will be gratefully received.
Regards G

"I believe that approx. 60% reenlisted,was there something about if a certain % of a Regt did so it kept its name,flags etc.If amalgamated what flags etc would they have carried ?

---It all depends upon what, where & why. In 1863-64 many Union regiments were due to muster out. To boost the reenlistments they had to offer all kinds of perks to stay. If individuals would re-up they might be offered 30 days leave and a bounty. If they had a majority of the regiment they could keep their regiment intact. Many re-upped but not the majority so these would be folded into another regiment from the same state and usually within the same brigade or division if need be. If THIS happened they would be members of their new regiment so would carry the flags of their new parent regiment. The same thing applied of the regiment no longer was even a company level. The Irish Brigade at Gettysburg had a huge problem. All 3 NY regiments had fallen to only 100 or less for each regiment so they were consolidated into one, the 69th I believe. They carried the flag that started with the most men. In practical sense the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg had only 3 regiments but on paper there were still 5 regiments.

To make it more complex, a number of units were "veteranized" as five company battalions when the men reenlisted.

As for the New York regiments at Gettysburg, they were kept separate and not consolidated into the 69th NY. The 69th and 63rd were three 25 man companies and the 88th was three 30 or so man companies. The entire Brigade fielded fewer than 600 men making it by far the smallest brigade on the field.

Hi,
Thanks,any info re units that received "Veteran" status ?
Cheers G

" they were kept separate and not consolidated into the 69th NY. The 69th and 63rd were three 25 man companies and the 88th was three 30 or so man companies."

---Well, that's not what I was told by a Park Historian and one Park Guide. I guess you have more info than them? I don't know.

According to the people that were there in 1863

link

Interesting is that his seems to be the only one that says they were combined. Maybe the others refused to comment on that.

Report of Capt. Thomas Touhy, Sixty-third New York Infantry.

Hdqrs. Sixty-third Battalion New York Vols.

August 2, 1863

LIEUTENANT: I have the honor to most respectfully make the following report of the part the Sixty-third Battalion New York Volunteers took in the battle of Gettysburg, July 2:

For more effective duty in action, the Sixty-third was consolidated with the Sixty-ninth and Eighty-eighth Battalions New York Volunteers. The three battalions, composed of two companies each, were commanded by Lieut. Col. R. C. Bentley, of the Sixty-third, forming a part of the Second Brigade, First Division, Second Corps, and were with the division when it advanced to the front line on the morning of July 2, where we lay in line of battle until about 4p.m., and were then ordered to advance with the brigade into the woods on the left of our position, where we engaged the enemy�s infantry and fought them over an hour, driving them a distance of over three-quarters of a mile, and capturing many prisoners, among whom were some officers. The battalion was armed with smooth-bore Springfield muskets, caliber .69, and each man before going into action was provided with 60 rounds of buck-and-ball cartridges, caliber .69. Our aggregate strength was 75 men, out of which we lost the following:

Officers and Men Killed Wounded Missing Prisoners Total
Commissioned officers ………….. 1 ……….. 1 2
Enlisted men . 6 9 7 ………. 22
Total*

6 10 7 1 24
Among the wounded was Lieut. Col. R.C. Bentley, who was struck in the left leg with a piece of shell. Second Lieut. Dominick I. Connally was taken prisoner, and is now at Richmond, Va.

I take great pleasure in stating that both officers and men behaved in the most creditable manner, showing great coolness and bravery while under fire.

The battalion after being relieved returned to the position they at first occupied, threw up breastworks, and were under heavy fire from the enemy�s batteries all the succeeding day (July 3), having 1 man wounded by explosion of a shell.

All of which is most respectfully submitted.

Here's an example. The 5th, 6th, and 7th Maine infantry were all a part of 6th Corps, AoP. Their enlistments were up in 1864, though in separate months. All, additionally, had new recruits whose contracts were for 3 years,or the duration of the war.

Come the end of muster for the 5th Maine, there were still recruits with a "for the duration" clause in their contract. These men, plus a number of reenlisted men,were transferred into the 6th Maine,under their own (5th Maine) company officers.

A couple months later,the contracts ran out for the 6th Maine. The original 6th Maine men who didn't reenlist were sent home, and those who had reenlisted, but the "for the duration recruits" of the 6th, along with all those 5th Maine guys,were all transferred into the 7th Maine.

Come the next month, the 7th Maine contract is up. As with the 5th & 6th Maine, the 7th also had some fellows with a "for the duration" clause. Together with the reenlisted men of the 7th, and all those fellows from the 5th & 6th Maine, the 7th now had enough men to form a full regiment.

The commanding officer, Major Thomas Hyde,ran into some initial difficulties with the 5th &6th Maine men, who had their own officers. He quieted problems by mixing all the men together, (5th, 6th, 7th) and forming new companies.

Shortly thereafter,the 7th was reenrolled as the 1st Maine Veteran Volunteers.They were given 30 days furlough, all new uniforms and equipment, and brand new Springfield rifle-muskets, straight from the arsenal.

Veteran Volunteer regiments were also given a half-chevron on each sleeve which was red, piped light blue on the long sides. This designated honorably fulfilling one enlistment, with wartime service.

As to the original question,

When a regiment was mustered out, the flags went home with it. Those who were reenlisted were processed into another unit and served under that flag.

When, for example, the 1st Maine VV was formed from the 5th,6th,& 7th Maine, it was issued with new national and regimental colors.

In the confederacy, when units were amalgamated, their flags were carried together,normally. HOWEVER, especially in the Army of Tennessee, amalgamated units were often issued with a new flag, which carried the names of all the units, and the word "amalgamated"or on occasion, "combined".

@ Grognard: Thanks,any info re units that received "Veteran" status ?

I don't understand what you are asking here. Are you looking for a list of regiments with VV status?

Hi,
Well I am after as much info as I can get re these "Veteran" units as I can.
I am also trying to get together a wargames army based on the 6th Corps,if poss,otherwise any other Corps taking part in the last few months of the war,this really includes the Rebs as well if I am honest,but I am woefully lacking in knowledge and information.
Cheers G

"were kept separate and not consolidated"

Yes, you are technically correct. On paper and in their reports, payroll, etc. they were still 3 regiments but since they failed to be a viable 'regiment' of their own. they were folded together at Gettysburg in an ad hoc regiment.

Don