165th Infantry Regiment

Nickname: Second Battalion Duryea's Zouaves; Smith's Zouaves

Mustered in: August to December 1862
Mustered out: September 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 Harmon D. Hull received authority to raise this regiment for a service of nine months, but this term of service was soon changed to three years; it received its numerical designation November 29, 1862; only six companies were then recruited. The men were mustered in the service of the United States for three years in August, September, October, November and December, 1862. In March, 1864, Companies G, H, I and K were organized; but on joining the battalion in the field they were at once consolidated with the six original companies.
The companies were recruited principally: A, C, D and E at New York city; B at New York city and Jamaica; F at New York city and Brooklyn; G, H, I and K at New York city and Long Island.
The battalion, Lieut-Col. Abel Smith, Jr., in command, left the State December 2, 1862; it served in the 3d Brigade, Sherman's Division, Department of the Gulf, from December, 1862; in 3d Brigade, 2d Division, 19th Corps, from March, 1863; in the 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 19th Corps, from July, 1863; in the 3d Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps, from January, 1864; in the 3d Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Shenandoah, from March, 1865; in the 3d Brigade, Dwight's Division, defenses of Washington, from April, 1865; in the 3d Division, Department of the South, from June, 1865; and, under Maj. Wm. W. Stephenson, it was honorably discharged and mustered out September 1, 1865, at Charleston, S. C.
During its service the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 1 officer, 36 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 1 officer, 15 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 2 officers, 79 enlisted men; total, 4 officers, 130 enlisted men; aggregate, 134; of whom 18 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 Sixty-fifth Infantry.—Lieut.-Cols., Abel Smith, Jr., Governeur Carr, William R. French; Majs., Governeur Carr, Felix Angus, William W. Stephenson. The 165th, the 2nd battalion, Duryea's Zouaves, was originally recruited for a nine months' term, but was afterwards changed to three years. Only six companies were recruited, principally from New York city and Brooklyn, and were mustered into the U. S. service between, Aug. and; Dec., 1862, for three years. In 1864, four new companies joined the battalion in the field and were consolidated with the original six companies. The battalion left the state Dec. 2, 1862, sailing for New Orleans, and on its arrival was assigned to the 3d brigade, 2nd (Sherman's) division, l9th corps, Department of the-Gulf. It participated in skirmishes in March, 1863, at North pass, Ponchatoula and Berwick bay, sustaining a few casualties, and was actively engaged throughout the long siege of Port Hudson, losing heavily in the assault of May 27. Its losses during the siege amounted to 106 killed, wounded and missing, among the mortally wounded being the gallant Lieut.-Col. Abel, who fell in the assault of May 27. It accompanied Franklin's expedition to Sabine pass, Tex., in Sept., 1863, and was later twice engaged at Vermilion bayou. In the 3d brigade, Emory's division, it took part in Banks'. Red River expedition in the spring of 1864, fighting at Sabine crossroads, Pleasant Hill, Cane river crossing and Mansura. The loss at Sabine cross-roads was 48 killed, wounded and missing, and at Pleasant hill, 49. Returning north, the regiment was in action in September at Berryville, Va., but sustained no loss. When Dwight's 1st division, Army of the Shenandoah, left the valley in April, 1865, as a part of the 3d brigade, the regiment accompanied it to Washington and subsequently to Savannah, Ga. Under Maj. Stephenson it was mustered out at Charleston, S. C, Sept. I, 1865, having lost by death during its term of service 2 officers and 44 men killed and mortally wounded; 2 officers and 79 men died of disease and other causes; total deaths, 127, of whom 18 men died in the hands of the enemy.

165thInfNationalColor2013.0049.jpg

165th Regiment NY Volunteer Infantry | National Color | Civil War

On December 13, 1862, at Camp Washington, Staten Island, the 165th New York Volunteers received a stand of colors from “a select party of gentlemen…

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NYSMM Online Resources

Muster Roll

Unit Roster

Battles and Casualties -Table from Phisterer (PDF format)

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

Civil War Newspaper Clippings
This is also available in PDF format. These are large files; however, they are exact images of the pages.

Pages 1 - 7

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.

Album of the Second battalion, Duryee zouaves, One hundred and sixty-fifth regt., New York volunteer infantry. [New York?] 1906.

Hanson, Joseph Mills. The assault ... :dedicated to the veterans of the one hundred and sixty-fifth regiment New York volunteers (2nd Duryee Zouaves) on the forty-first anniversary of their assault upon the intrenchments of Port Hudson, La., May 27th, 1863. S.l., 1904. 4 p. ; 23 cm. 
Located at the New York Historical Society, New York, NY.

Hennessey, James J. "Varieties of Officers' Dress : 165th N.Y. Vol. Inf. - Second Battalion, Duryea Zouaves, 1862-1865." Military Collector & Historian. 30 :1 (Spring 1978) 28-29.

Hoey, George. "The 165th New York volunteers", written by George Hoey, and read by James F. Ferguson, on Decoration day, May 30th, 1890, at Tottenville, Staten island." 5 p. Poetry.

Hussey-Wadsworth Family. Hussey-Wadsworth Family papers, 1830-1945.
255 items (1.25 linear feet).
The Hussey-Wadsworth papers document the involvement of two well-to-do families in the Civil War, Spanish-American War and, less intensively, in the two World Wars.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=clementsmss;idno=umich-wcl-M-2264.3hus

Mitchell, Theodore L. Civil War Miscellaneous Collection. 
(Enlisted man's diaries, Apr 1863-Sep 15, 1865).
Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.

Moore, J. Michael. "Second Battalion, Duryee Zouaves Officer's Uniform." Military Collector and Historian. V55 N2 (Summer 2003), p. 110 - 112. [In file - US Army, NYV, 5th Infantry].

New York Infantry. 165th Regiment, 1862-1865. History of the Second Battalion Duryee Zouaves : One Hundred and Sixty-Fifth Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry, mustered in the United States service at Camp Washington, Staten Island, N.Y. Salem, Ma: Higginson Book co. 1905.
Available online at www.archive.org/details/secondbattalion00newyrich

Oysterponds Historical Society (Orient, N.Y.). Civil War collection,1860-1907, 1860-1866 (bulk).
Letters from John H. Young, Pvt. Co. H, 127th Reg., New York States Volunteers (N.Y.S.V.), 1863-1865; power of attorney Geo. E. Latham to father, 1864; 11 letters from soldiers to Elias Latham, Orient, about death of son, 1865; will of Jacob Wetzel, 1862; letter Treasury Department to Elizabeth, widow of Pvt. Jacob Wetzel, 1864; letters from John Moore and Edmund Townsend, 1862-1863; 20 letters from Pvt. Henry Young to cousin Elizabeth Young, 1863-1864; discharge of surgeon Richard Allen, 139th Reg. N.Y.S.V., 1865; typed extract from diary of Col. Wm. Wilson Stephenson, 165 Reg., N.Y.S.V., 1863; list of Orient men in 127th and 165th Regiments and the 6th N.Y. Cavalry, 1861-1865; list of men recruited by W. W. Stephenson; furlough, appointment and discharge papers of Elbert Tabor and marriage certificate to Harriet A. Terry, 1860-1866; promotion certificate of Cornelius J. Moore, 1863; pension certificate of C. J. Moore, 1907; savings sheets, enlistment, and furlough sheets of Co. I, 57th Regiment, 1862-1864. 
.3 cubic ft. 
Located at the Oysterponds Historical Society, George R. Latham Research Room, P.O. Box 70, Orient, N.Y.

Roster 165th regiment, N.Y. vols. 2d Duryee zouaves, September, 1861 — September, 1865. [1903].

ZouaveUniforms.jpgTeaching with Digital Content (Digital Cultural Heritage Community) . Plate of Three Civil War Soldiers dressed in Zouave uniforms. Chicago Public Library, Special Collections and Preservation Division.
Abstract: A full color plate of Major Felix Agnus, Colonel Harmon D. Hull, and an unknown officer from the 165th New York Volunteer Infantry (also known as the Second Battalion, Duryee Zouaves). This plate shows the variety of dress for Duryee Zouave soldiers. The first and third officers have the typical short, colorful Zouave coat. Colonel Hull has a more traditional military frock coat. All three have the baggy trousers patterned after the French chasseur uniform.
Available from http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/TDC&CISOPTR=66&CISOBOX=1&REC=1

United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 165th (1862-1865). Memorial addresses on the life and character of Col. W.W. Stephenson, president of the Veteran Association of the 165th Regt. N.Y. Vols. (2d Duryee Zouaves) who died in Brooklyn, N.Y., March 4, 1889. New York? 1889. [10] p. 25 cm.

 

Items in the museum collection are in bold.