157th Infantry Regiment

Nickname: Madison And Cortland Regiment

Mustered in: September 19, 1862
Mustered out: July 10, 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 Philip P. Brown, Jr., received authority, August 13, 1862, to recruit this regiment in the then 23d Senatorial District of the State. It was organized at Hamilton, and there mustered in the service of the United States for three years September 19, 1862. June 22, 1865, the men not to be mustered out with the regiment were transferred to the 54th Infantry.
The companies were recruited principally: A at Hamilton, Madison, Sherburne and Georgetown; B at Oneida; C at Hamilton, Cincinnatus, Marathon, Cuyler, Taylor, Willet, Solon, Freetown and Pitcher; D at Scott, Preble and Homer; E at Cortland, Virgil, Harford and Cortlandville; F at Smyrna, Smithfield, Lebanon, Georgetown, Hamilton, Eaton and Madison; G at Canastota, Lennox, Clockville, Wampsville, Oneida and Hamilton; H at Homer, Truxton and Cortlandville; I at Sullivan, Smithfield and Hamilton; and K at Cortlandville, Marathon, Harford, Freetown and Virgil.
The regiment left the State September 25, 1862; it Served in the 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 11th Corps, from October, 1862; in the 2d Brigade, 1st Division, nth Corps, from July 13, 1863; in the 2d Brigade, Gordon's Division, 10th Corps, on Folly and Morris Islands, S. C., from August, 1863; in Schimmelpfenning's Division, 10th Corps, from January, 1864; in the 1st Brigade, Ames' Division, 10th Corps, from February, 1864; in the District of Florida, from February, 1864; at Beaufort, S. C., from June 15, 1864; on Morris Island, S. C, from September 5, 1864; at Fort Pulaski, Ga., from October 22 to November 28, 1864; in the 1st, Potter's, Brigade, Coast Division, Department of the Gulf, from November, 1864; at Georgetown, S. C., from February, 1865; and, commanded by Col. James C. Carmichael, it was honorably discharged and mustered out July 10, 1865, at Charleston, S. C.
During its service the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 5 officers, 50 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 2 officers, 40 enlisted men; of disease and other cause's, 2 officers, 104 enlisted men; total, 9 officers, 194 enlisted men; aggregate, 203; of whom 1 officer, 4 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. 
One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Infantry.—Cols., Philip P. Brown, Jr., James C. Carmichael; Lieut.-Cols., George Arrowsmith, James C. Carmichael, Frank Place; Majs., James C. Carmichael, Frank Place, Leonard F. Briggs. This regiment, recruited in the counties, of Madison and Cortland, was organized at Hamilton, and there mustered into the U. S. service for three years on Sept. 19, 1862. It left the state on the 25th and on reaching Washington was assigned to the 1st brigade, 3d (Schurz's) division, nth corps, with which it went into winter quarters at Stafford, Va. Its first battle was the disastrous one of Chancellorsville, where it lost 98 in killed, wounded and missing. The regiment sustained a fearful loss at Gettysburg, where it was heavily engaged on the first two days of the battle and was highly praised for its gallantry. Lieut.-Col. Arrowsmith was killed on the first day. The casualties of the 157th amounted to 6 officers and 46 men killed and mortally wounded; 6 officers and 137 men wounded; 6 officers and 106 men, missing, a total of 307. Soon after the battle it was assigned to the 1st brigade of Schimmelfennig's (1st) division, same corps. This division was detached in August and ordered to Charleston harbor, where it became a part of the 10th corps, and during the remainder of 1863, the regiment, in the 2nd brigade, Gordon's division, 10th corps, was stationed on Folly and Morris islands, S. C. It participated in the siege of Fort Wagner and the various operations about Charleston harbor; was engaged at Seabrook and John's Islands in Feb., 1864, meeting with some losses, and was then ordered to Florida, where it remained until June, when it returned to Beaufort. During the remainder of its service it took part in the engagements at Honey Hill (loss, 32 killed and wounded), Boyd's point, Coosawhatchie, Deveaux neck (loss, 24), Tillafinny Station (loss, 20), all in 1864; in 1865 it fought at Manningsville, Dingle's mill (loss. 28), Singleton's plantation, Big Rafting creek and Statesburg. On July 10, 1865, it was mustered out at Charleston, S. C., under Col. Carmichael. It lost by death during service, 7 officers and 90 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded; 2 officers and 104 men died of disease and other causes; total deaths, 203; total casualties, killed, wounded and missing, 533.

NYSMM Online Resources

Muster Roll

Unit Roster

Battles and Casualties -Table from Phisterer (PDF format)

Battles and Casualties -Table from Phisterer (MS Excel format)

Newspaper Clippings

Historical Sketch

Monument at Gettysburg

Other Resources

This is meant to be a comprehensive list. If, however, you know of a resource that is not listed below, please send an email to ng.ny.nyarng.list.historians@army.mil with the name of the resource and where it is located. This can include photographs, letters, articles and other non-book materials. Also, if you have any materials in your possession that you would like to donate, the museum is always looking for items specific to New York's military heritage. Thank you.

Applegate, John S. Reminiscences and letters of George Arrowsmith of New Jersey late Lieutenant-Colonel of the One Hundred and Fifty-Seventh Regiment, New York State Volunteers. Red Bank, N.J. : J.H. Cook, 1893. xiv, 254 p. : port.

Arrowsmith, George. BrakeColl 
(LTC's 1893 reminiscence of Gettysburg).
Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.

Barlow, A. R.  Company G. :a record of the services of one company of the 157th N.Y. vols. in the war of the rebellion, from Sept. 19, 1862 to July 10, 1865, including the roster of the company. Syracuse, N.Y. : A.W. Hall, 1899. 244 p. ; 19 cm.

Blodgett, Alonzo D. Correspondence, 1861-1865. 
Group of letters received by Alonzo Blodgett during the Civil War many of which were written by soldiers of the 157th and 185th Infantry Regiments. They contain information on the experiences of life in army camps and the various campaigns involving the aforesaid regiments. 
23 items.
Located at the New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections.

Boynton, Jonathan W.W. Civil War Miscellaneous Collection.
(Enlisted man's memoir, 1862-1865, much covering his POW experiences).
Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.

Bracy, Isabel. 157th New York Volunteer (Infantry) Regiment :1862-1865, Madison and Cortland counties, New York. Interlaken, N.Y.:Heart of the Lakes Pub., 1991. 126 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.

Civil War Records and Related Materials, 1860-1911, 1860-1864 (bulk).
2.0 cubic ft.
Records of the 76th Regiment, N.Y. Volunteers, include diary of W.S. Walcott, 1862; muster rolls for Company G, and regimental association records. Records of the 157th Regiment include muster roll of Company E; roster of Company C; records of Quartermaster Perrin H. McGraw; MS. by Col. Frank Place on prisoner exchanges; war reminiscences by William Saxton and Roswell W. Bourne; and regimental association rosters. Other items are diary of Wellington Hinman, 111th Regiment; muster roll, Company H, 23rd Regiment; list of soldiers buried at Marathon; list of items given for soldiers by residents of Virgil, 1861; and roll of men liable for military duty, 42nd Regiment, N.Y. State Militia.
Scrapbook of soldiers' obituaries; roll of men credited to Cortland County, 1864; paper by George W. Edgcomb on war meeting in Cortland, 1861; MS. reminiscences of the siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana; war records of Grover Post, no. 98, Grand Army of the Republic, Cortland; records of the Cortland County Monumental Association, 1877-1911; and Cortland County Clerk's record of servicemen, 1865. There are also miscellaneous letters, commissions, discharges, and photographs.
Located at the Cortland County Historical Society, Cortland, New York 13045, 25 Homer Avenue.

Clark, William H. LeighColl Bk 29: 72.
(Enlisted man's letter, May 8, 1863).
Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.

Colyer, Henry. Correspondence of Henry I. Colyer,1862-1865. 
Colyer's Civil War correspondence, chiefly his letters to his parents, siblings, and friends in Chittenango. The letters discuss war, political, and family news and contain detailed factual accounts of the camp life -- rations, barracks, soldiers' finances, conscripts and substitutes, desertions, drinking, courts martial, hospital, prisons, demobilization, etc. 146 pieces, also copies and transcripts. 
3 boxes, 3 binders of copies. 
Located at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.

Murray, R.L. (ed.) New Yorkers in the Civil War. Wolcott, N.Y. Benedum Books, v. 4 c2004.

Murry, John. Civil War Miscellaneous Collection.
(Enlisted man's letters, May 3-Jul 22, 1864).
Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.

Saxton, William. A regiment remembered :the 157th New York Volunteers. Cortland, NY : Cortland County Historical Society, 1996. 157 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.

Seymour, O. H.  Letters, 1863. 
Consists of letters Seymour wrote to his brother from stations in Virginia in the spring and summer of 1863. 
15 items. 
Located at Auburn University.

Shapley, Daniel N. Letter, 1 March 1863.
1 leaf and 4 pages.
Letter, 1 March 1863, from Daniel N. Shapley (b. ca. 1840), Company E, 157th New York Infantry, to his sister Alvira A. Shapley (b. ca. 1848) of Cortland County, New York, describing picket duty looking for Confederate cavalry. He also sends news of their brother Charles (1838-1888) and about camp life. There is also an envelope and a transcript.
Accession 38823. Located at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
Thank you to Ed Worman for pointing out this resource.

Sketch and roster of the 157th Regiment New York Volunteers. New York? : s.n., 1895. [21] p.

United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 157th (1862-1865). Souvenir memorial [of] Col. James C. Carmichael. New York, 1891. 101 p. port. 17 cm.

 

Items in the museum collection are in bold.