160th Infantry Regiment

Mustered in: November 21, 1862
Mustered out: November 1, 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 Charles C. Dwight received authority, September 6, 1862, to recruit this regiment in the then 25th Senatorial District of the State; it was organized at Auburn and mustered in the service of the United States for three years at New York city November 21, 1862.
The companies were recruited principally: A at Arcadia and Auburn; B at Palmyra, Macedon, Walworth and Owasco; C at Auburn; D at Marion, Sodus and Williamson; E at Canandaigua, Seneca Falls, Owasco, East Bloomfield, Auburn, Geneva, Tyre and Bristol; F at Auburn, Moravia, Locke, Summer Hill, Sempronius, Sennett, Owasco, Victory, Sterling and Venice; G at Attica, Alfred, Almond, Andover and Wellsville; H at Wellsville, Scio, Wirt, Auburn, Alma, West Almond and Independence; I at Caneadea, Allen, Independence, Rushford, Owasco, Auburn, Palmyra, Andover, Belfast and Wells-ville; and K at Eden, Hamburg, Marilla, Collins, Persia and Buffalo.
The regiment left the State December 4, 1862; it served in Sherman's Division, Department of the Gulf, from December 25, 1862; in 2d Brigade, Augur's Division, from January, 1863; in 2d Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps, from February, 1863; in the Reserve Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps, from August, 1863; in the 3d Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps, from September, 1863; in 2d Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps, from February, 1864; in the 3d Brigade; 1st Division, 19th Corps, from June, 1864; in the 2d Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps, from August 13, 1864; in the 2d Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Shenandoah, from March, 1865; in the 3d Brigade of the same, from April 6, 1865; in the 3d Brigade, Dwight's Division, at Washington, D. C., from April 25, 1865; in the same, Department of the South, from June, 1865; in the same, Department of Georgia, from July 23, 1865; and, commanded by Col. Henry P. Underhill, it was honorably discharged and mustered out at Savannah, Ga., November I, 1865.
During its service the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 4 officers, 40 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 2 officers, 13 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 2 officers, 158 enlisted men; total, 8 officers, 211 enlisted men; aggregate, 219; of whom 1 officer, 7 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 Sixtieth Infantry.—Cols., Charles C. Dwight, Henry P. Underhill; Lieut.-Cols., John B. Van Petten, Henry P. Underhill, John B. Burreed; Majs., William M. Sentell, Daniel L. Vaughan. This regiment was recruited by Col. Dwight in the counties of Cayuga, Seneca, Wayne, Ontario, Allegany, Erie and Wyoming. It rendezvoused at Auburn, and was mustered into the U. S. service at New York city Nov. 21, 1862, for three years. It left the state on Dec. 4, 1862, and proceeded to the Department of the Gulf, where it was assigned to the 2nd brigade, Augur's division, 19th corps. Its first loss was met in the action with the gunboat Cotton in Jan., 1863, where I man was killed and 4 wounded; at Pattersonville in March, where Co. F, Capt. Josiah P. Jewett, was on board the gunboat Diana during the action with the Confederate batteries, it lost 6 killed and 16 wounded, Capt. Jewett being mortally wounded. At Fort Bisland its loss was 7 killed and wounded. It was later engaged at Jeanerette and Plain Store, after which it participated with credit in the long siege of Port Hudson, taking part in the general assaults of May 27 and June 14. Its loss in killed and wounded during the siege was 41. A "period of post and garrison duty followed the fall of Port Hudson, and in March, 1864, in the 2nd brigade, 1st (Emory's) division, 19th corps, it started on Banks' Red River expedition, engaging with heavy loss at Pleasant Hill, where its casualties were 41 killed, wounded and missing, at Sabine cross-roads, Cane river crossing and Mansura. In July it returned to the north with the first two divisions of the 19th corps and in Dwight's (1st) division, fought under Sheridan in his campaign in the Shenandoah Valley against Early, sustaining severe losses in the battles of the Opequan and Cedar creek. In the former action its casualties were 15 killed, 61 wounded and I missing, and in the latter 66 killed, wounded and missing. Lieut.-Col. Van Petten received a bullet through the thigh at Winchester, but continued to bravely lead his men until the battle was over. He was subsequently promoted colonel of the 193d N. Y. infantry. The regiment left the valley in April, 1865; proceeded to Washington, where it took part in the grand review in May; moved to Savannah, Ga., in June; and under command of Col. Underhill was mustered out at Savannah on Nov. 1, 1865. The regiment lost by: death during its term of serviced officers and 47 enlisted men killed and died of wounds received in action; I officer and 159 enlisted men died of disease and other causes; total deaths, 219.

NYSMM Online Resources

Muster Roll

Unit Roster

Newspaper Clippings
 

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.

Brown, John. Civil War letter, 1863 May 3. 
Letter documenting the military skirmishes at Fort Bisland, La. 
1 item (4 p.). 
Located in the Pearce Civil War Collection, Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas.

Burrud, John B. Papers of John B. Burrud,1862-1865. 
Letters from John B. Burrud to his wife Ocena; his Civil War pocket diary, and song book. Letters and diary contain accounts of the camp and war activities in Louisiana and Virginia, and comments on Georgia in the aftermath of the war. 
222 pieces. 
Located at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.

Fordyce, Benjamin A. Echoes from the letters of a Civil War surgeon. Longboat Key, FL : Bayou Pub., 1994. 287 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

Fordyce, Benjamin A. Letter, 27 August 1864.
4 pages. 
Letter, 27 August 1864, from Dr. Benjamin A. Fordyce (1823-1893), 160th New York Infantry, stationed at Halltown, Jefferson County, (West) Virginia, to Colonel Charles C. Dwight (ca. 1830-1902) in New Orleans. Louisiana, asking Dwight to forward a letter for him, giving the location of his unit, writing about skirmishes with the enemy, including Early’s and Breckenridge’s commands, the numbers of prisoners taken and exchanged, and the Confederates’ attempts to move into Maryland. He also solicits Dwight’s support in his desire to obtain a commission in a new regiment.
Accession 40527. Located at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
Thank you to Ed Worman for pointing out this resource.

Jones, Miles T. Civil War Miscellaneous Collection.
(Lt's letters, Nov 14, 1861-Nov 14, 1863; List of unit officers)
Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.

Sentell family. Diaries and letters, 1856-1897. 
Diaries (December, 1862-October, 1864) of Edward H. Sentell and letters (1856-1897) of various family members. Diaries include detailed entries by Edward Sentell while serving as Lieutenant in the 160th N.Y.S.V. He describes his voyage to Fort Jefferson, Florida and New Orleans, activities on the Red River in Louisiana, his voyage on the steamer Leary to Virginia in July, 1864, and his stay in Maryland and Virginia until October, 1864 when the entries stop. One box of letters are mostly Civil War letters of William H. Sentell while a sergeant in the 44th N.Y.S.V. in Virginia and as major in the 160th in Louisiana; and Charles Sentell, a soldier in the 111th N.Y.S.V. in Virginia. The postwar letters concern such matters as farming, relatives in Wisconsin, private affairs, etc. 
4 v. 97 items. 
Located at the New York Historical Society, New York, NY.

Stoddard Family. 160th New York Infantry, Co. C.Papers (1850-1920).
Includes letters sent to Asa Stoddard from Jacob Ubrasson, a soldier of the 160th N.Y. Infantry Regiment Company B. Ubrasson wrote about routine activities and experiences of military life. Finding aid available.
3 boxes (1 cu. ft.).
Located at the New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections.

Swingle, Herb. "A Yankee Prisoner in Texas." 
Available online at: http://leemakinson.tripod.com/herb.htm

Thompson, Joseph S. Letters, 1865. 
Letters written by Joseph S. Thompson, a sergeant with Company K, 160th New York Infantry Regiment, to his family during the final year of the Civil War. Seven original letters are accompanied by preservation photocopies, exact transcriptions, and "corrected" transcriptions that correct spelling and grammatical errors. Five letters were written to his sister, Mrs. E. McEvoy of Mauston, Wisconsin, one to her husband, and one to his father and brother. The first five letters, written from Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area, provide a summary of his previous service in Louisiana, request additional news from the home front, and following the end of the war, express his sense of boredom and an anxiousness to be discharged from service. In the final two letters, written from Georgia, Thompson mention his bout with fever, his excitement at the thought of returning home, his intention to divorce his current wife, and the prospect of marrying a woman he met in Savannah. One letter is written on patriotic stationary printed with the lyrics to the song "Who Will Care for Mother Now." Also included with the letters is a flyer with the lyrics to a song, "Sheridan's March up the Valley." 
0.1 linear ft. (5 folders). 
Located at the WDVA Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center

 

Items the museum holds are in bold.