49th Infantry Regiment
Nickname: Second Buffalo Regiment
Mustered in: September 18, 1861
Mustered out: June 27,1865
The following is taken from New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912.
Colonel D. D. Bidwell received authority from the War Department, August 1, 1861, to recruit a regiment of infantry. September 18, 1861, the State authorities gave this regiment, organized at Buffalo, its numerical designation, and completed its organization by attaching to it the Fremont Rifles, and merging into it another incomplete company, Many members of the 6sth State Militia joined this regiment, which was mustered in the service of the United States for three years, September 18, 1861. A detachment of three years' men of the 33d Infantry was attached to the regiment May 14, 1863, and transferred to the companies of the regiment October 1, 1863. September 17, 1864, the men not entitled to be discharged were formed into a battalion of five companies, A, B, C, D and E, and retained in the service; those of Companies A and G forming Company A; of B and D Company B; of E, F and some of I Company C; of K and some of I Company D; and those of C and H Company E; the men entitled to be discharged by reason of expiration of their term of service were sent to Buffalo and there, under command of Maj. A. W. Brazee, honorably discharged October 18, 1864.
The companies were recruited principally: A, G, I and K in Chautauqua county; B. D, E and F in Erie county; C — Fremont Rifles — in Westchester county; and H in the county of Niagara.
The regiment left the State September 20, 1861; served at and near Washington, D. C., from September, 1861; in 3d, Stevens', Brigade, Smith's Division, Army of the Potomac, from October 15, 1861; in 3d Davidson's, Brigade, same division, 4th Corps, Army of the Potomac, from March 13, 1862; in 3d Brigade, 2d Division, 6th Corps, Army of the Potomac, from May, 1862; and it was honorably discharged and mustered out, under Col. George H. Selkirk, June 27, 1865, at Washington, D. C.
During its service, the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 12 officers, 84 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 4 officers, 42 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 5 officers, 175 enlisted men; total, 21 officers, 301 enlisted men; aggregate, 322; of whom 23 enlisted men died in the hands of the enemy.
The following is taken from 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. Madison, WI: Federal Pub. Co., 1908. volume II.
Forty-ninth Infantry.—Cols., Daniel D. Bidwell, Erastus D. Holt, George H. Selkirk; Lieut-Cols., William C. Alberger, George W. Johnson, Erastus D. Holt, George H. Selkirk, Thomas Cluney; Majs., George W. Johnson, William Ellis, Andrew W. Brazee, George H. Selkirk, Solomon W. Russell, Jr. The 49th, the and Buffalo regiment, contained four companies from Chautauqua county, four from Erie, one from Westchester and one from Niagara county and was mustered into the U. S. service at Buffalo, Sept. 18, 1861, for a three years' term. It left Buffalo Sept. 20 for Washington, was there assigned to the 3d brigade, Smith's division, with which it remained throughout its term of service. In March, 1862, the brigade and division were attached to the 4th corps and in May to the 6th corps. The regiment was first engaged at Lewinsville, Va., in Oct., 1861, after which it encamped near Lewinsville until March, 1862, when it was ordered to Alexandria and from there to the Peninsula. It performed trench duty at Yorktown; was in support during the battles of Lee's mill and Williamsburg; participated in the Seven Days' battles, and went into camp at Harrison's landing until the middle of August, when it was withdrawn to Alexandria. In September the regiment joined the Army of the Potomac in Maryland; fought at Crampton's gap, Antietam, and Fredericks-burg; spent the winter near White Oak Church; took part in the Chancellorsville campaign in May, 1863, losing 35 members killed, wounded or missing, and left Virginia on June 13 for Gettysburg. The regiment was there in support of the artillery, and after the battle joined in the pursuit, reaching Warrenton, Va., late in the month of July. After a fortnight in camp there it proceeded to Culpeper, engaging the enemy at Rappahannock Station on the march. Winter quarters were established at Brandy Station in Dec., 1863, and during that month 175 members reenlisted, securing the continuance of the regiment in the field as a veteran organization. On May 4, 1864, it broke camp for the Wilderness campaign and during the next two days lost 89 in killed, wounded and missing. At Spottsylvania the total loss was 121 members, and in these two battles 10 officers were killed, including Maj. Ellis, who fell at Spottsylvania. After the battle of Cold Harbor the regiment reported a loss of 61 killed, 155 wounded and 30 missing, out of 384 who had left Brandy Station. It proceeded to Petersburg and participated in the first assault. In July, with the 6th corps, it was ordered to Washington and arrived in time to assist in the defense of Fort Stevens, where Lieut.-Col Johnson, the commander, was killed. Continuing its service in the Shenandoah valley the regiment was active at Charlestown, the Opequan, Fisher's hill, and Cedar creek, where Col. Bidwell was killed. The original members not reenlisted returned to New York in October and were there mustered out on the 18th. The veterans were consolidated into a battalion of five companies, which was ordered to Petersburg, where it participated in the siege operations until the fall of the city. In the final assault on April 2, 1865, Col. Holt was killed. The 3d brigade, to which the 49th belonged, was remarkably unfortunate in the loss of 72 officers in the five regiments of which it was composed. The 49th was mustered out at Washington on June 27, 1865, having lost 141 by death from wounds, and 180 by death from other causes, out of a total enrollment of 1,312. Col. Fox numbers it among the "three hundred fighting regiments."
49th Regiment NY Volunteer Infantry | Flank Markers | Civil War
This pair of blue silk flank markers feature the 2nd Division, VI Corps badge in silk sewn to the center within a cut out section. The regiment’s…
NYSMM Online Resources
Battles and Casualties from Phisterer (pdf)
Battles and Casualties from Phisterer (spreadsheet)
