169th Infantry Regiment

Nickname: Troy Regiment

Mustered in: September 25 to October 6, 1862
Mustered out: July 19, 1865

The following is taken from New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912. 

September 24, 1862, Col. Clarence Buel received authority to raise this regiment in the then 12th Senatorial District of the State; it was organized at Staten Island, and mustered in the service of the United States for three years, Companies A to E at Troy, September 25, 1862; the remaining companies at New Dorp, Staten Island, October 6, 1862. June 7, 1865, it received by transfer the men of the 142d Infantry not mustered out with their regiment.
The companies were recruited principally: A at Nassau, Troy, Schodack and Poestenkill; B, G, H and I at Troy; C at Troy, Brunswick, Hoosick, Pittstown, Easton and Poestenkill; D at Sandy Hill, Kingsbury and Fort Edward; E at Fort Edward; F at Whitehall, Lisbon and Fort Ann; and K at Lansingburg and Troy. Company I was also known as the Nail Factory Company.
The regiment left the State October 9, 1862; it served in the Provisional Brigade, Abercrombie's Division, defenses of Washington, from October, 1862; in the Military District of Washington, D. c., 22d Corps, from March, 1863; in the 2d, Foster's, Brigade, 1st, Corcoran's, Division, 7th Corps, at Suffolk, Va., from April 17, 1863; on the Peninsula, Va., in June and July, 1863; in the Department of the South, 18th Corps, from August, 1863; on Folly Island, S. C., and in Foster's and Drake's Brigades, Vodges' Division, 10th Corps, from October, 1863; in the District of Florida, from February, 1864; in the 2d Brigade, 3d Division, 10th Corps, from April, 1864; in the 2d Brigade, 3d Division, 18th Corps, from May 30, 1864; in the 3d Brigade, 2d Division, 10th Corps, from June 15, 1864; in the same Brigade of 24th Corps, from December, 1864; of the Provisional Corps, from March, 1865; of the l0th Corps, from April 2, 1865; and, commanded by Col. Alonzo Alden, it was honorably discharged and mustered out July 19, 1865, at Raleigh, N. C.
During its service the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 6 officers, 67 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 1 officer, 58 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 3 officers, 150 enlisted men; total, 10 officers, 275 enlisted men, aggregate, 285; of whom 25 enlisted men died in the hands of the enemy, and 2 officers and 26 enlisted men were killed by the explosion of the magazine at Fort Fisher, N. C., January 16, 1865.

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-ninth Infantry.—Cols., Clarence Buell John McConihe, Alonzo Alden; Lieut.-Cols., John McConihe, Alozo Alden, James A. Colvin; Majs., Alonzo Alden, James A. Col vin, Joseph H. Allen. The 169th, known as the Troy regiment, was recruited in the counties of Rensselaer and Washington and or ganized at Troy and Staten island. Cos. A to E were mustered into the U. S. service at Troy, Sept. 25, 1862, and the remaining companies at New Dorp, Staten island, Oct. 6, the term of enlist-ment being three years. The 169th left the state Oct. 9, 1862, for Washington. It achieved honorable distinction in the field, and numbered by Col. Fox among the three hundred fighting regiments He says: "The regiment was actively engaged in the defense of Suf-folk, Va., where it served in Foster's brigade, Corcoran's division. ] the following summer it participated in the operations about Charles ton harbor and in May, 1864, it moved with the Army of the James to Bermuda Hundred. The regiment disembarked there with Butler army and hard fighting, with its consequent heavy losses, immediately ensued. At Cold Harbor it fought in Martindale's division, Col. M Conihe being killed in that battle. The 169th held a perilous position in the trenches before Petersburg, losing men there, killed or wounded almost every day. While there, on the evening of June 30, 1864, the bri-gade (Barton's) was ordered to charge the enemy's lines, so that, under cover of their fire, Curtis' brigade could throw up an advanced rifle-pit but the regiment while going into position was prematurely discovered by the enemy and thereby drew upon themselves a severe fire, which not only .frustrated the plan, but cost the regiment many lives The regiment was one of those selected for the expedition against Fort Fisher, being then in Bell's (3d) brigade, Ames' division, l0th corps, and took part in the desperate but victorious assault c that stronghold. A large proportion of its losses there, however occurred at the explosion of the magazine, after the fort had bee captured. After the fall of Fort Fisher, the regiment accompanied the l0th corps in its advance on Wilmington. The following is list of the engagements in which the 169th took part: siege of Suf-folk, Fort Wagner, S. C., Port Walthall Junction, Chester Station Bermuda Hundred, Cold Harbor, around Petersburg, Dutch gap Chaffin's farm, Va., and Fort Fisher, N. C. It was present at Eden-ton road, Carrsville, Blackwater, Zuni, Nansemond, South Anna Drewry's bluff, Darbytown road and Wilmington. On the conclu-sion of the war it remained as a garrison at Raleigh, N. C., which city it had entered with the advance of Sherman's army, and was there mustered out on July 19, 1865, under command of Col. Alden. The regiment was fortunate in the personnel of its officers and in he ranks was some of the best blood sent forth by the Empire State. In all its numerous fights the regiment never faltered, both officers and men behaving in the most praiseworthy and gallant manner. The total enrollment of the regiment (not including the men transferred from the 142nd N. Y., on June 7, 1865, after the war had ended) was 1,467, of whom 10 officers and 147 men—or 0.7 per cent.—were killed and mortally wounded; 3 officers and 125 men died of disease and other causes; total deaths, 285. The total number killed and wounded Was 618.

169thInfReg.jpg

169th Regiment NY Volunteer Infantry | Regimental Color | Civil War

This blue silk regimental features the painted Arms of the United States in center and gold-colored fine silk tassel fringe along three sides. The…

More

NYSMM Online Resources

Battles and Casualties from Phisterer (pdf)
Battles and Casualties from Phisterer (spreadsheet)

Muster Roll

Unit Roster

Newspaper Clippings

Flags of the 169th N. Y. S. V. Infantry Regiment by Steven Wiezbicki

Roster of the 169th - Scanned and donated by Steven Wiezbicki. 

169th New York Infantry Newsletter -- Written And Submitted By Steve Wiezbicki

Search the Museum catalog for this unit

Click Here

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.

Thank you to Steve Wiezbicki for compiling most of this bibliography.

Alonzo Alden. History of the 169th Regiment N. Y. V., As Compiled from the Journal of Gen. Alden, Kept by Him During the War, and from Authentic Sources, Alonzo Alden, 1879[?], 
Located at: U.S. Military History Institute Research Collection, Carlisle, Penn.

Alonzo Alden. Memoirs of Alonzo Alden (1834-1900), 1896.
Located at: Collection of Williams College Library, Williamstown, Mass.

Anderson, George Baker. Landmarks of Rensselaer County. (Published under the Auspices of The Troy Press), D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, New York, 1897.
Operations of the One Hundred and Sixty-Ninth, Pp. 111-125.

Bond, Ella G. Letter, 1864 June 11.
A letter received from a person identified only as Uncle Ben, a soldier of Company G of the 169th New York Infantry Regiment (Sergeant Benjamin G. Walker, Co. G, 169th N.Y.) The letter indicates he was at a hospital in Philadelphia convalescing from wounds he received in battle. Other than this information there is not much else written in the letter. 
1 item. 
Located at the New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections.

Carmon, Alfred. Papers, 1859-1865.
Chiefly letters written by Sergeant Alfred Carmon, Co. H, 169th N.Y., to his family in Sand Lake, N.Y., while serving with Company H, 169th New York Infantry Regiment, during the Civil War, describing camp life and skirmishes in Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida. Includes comments on Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, presidential election of 1864, and Robert E. Lee's surrender. 
65 items. 1 container, 0.2 linear ft.
Located at the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

French, Frederick F. Letter by First Sergeant Frederick F. French.
Co. D, 169th N.Y.S V. Infantry Regiment, 1862-1865.
Located at: The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

J. Sterling Morton Papers, 1849-1862.
John McConihe Correspondence. Brevet Brigadier-General and Colonel John McConihe, 169th New York Volunteer Infantry. 
Located at: Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Johnson, Paul R. "Sergeant Slack's Album -- One soldier's photo collection tells the story of his Civil War adventures." Civil War Times Illustrated, (December 1998) pp. 40-44.
Thank you to Steven Wiezbicki for pointing out this resource.

Marvin, Nathaniel D. Letters, 1862-1865. 
Letters sent by Private Nathaniel D. Marvin, Co. H, 169th N.Y., to his family from various army camps in Virginia and North Carolina that detail his experiences of being encamped in trenches near Petersburg as well as the constant shelling and occasional skirmishes between Union and Confederate troops. These letters also contain news about fellow soldiers from Sand Lake and vicinity. 
14 items. 
Located at the New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections.

McConihe, John. Correspondence of Colonel John McConihe, 169th N.Y.S.V. Infantry Regiment, 1863-1864. 
Brevet Brigadier-General and Colonel John McConihe, 169th New York Volunteer Infantry. 
Located at: Special Collections, Albany Institute of History & Art, Albany, New York.

McConihe, John and John M. Newton. Memoir of Colonel John McConihe. 
(Part of Correspondence of Colonel John McConihe, 169th N.Y.S.V. Infantry Regiment, 1863-1864).
Brevet Brigadier-General and Colonel John McConihe, 169th New York Volunteer Infantry. 
Located at: Special Collections, Albany Institute of History & Art, Albany, New York.

McConihe, John. Letter of John McConihe, May 9, 1863. 
Brevet Brigadier-General and Colonel John McConihe, 169th New York Volunteer Infantry. 
Located at: Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

McConihe, John. John McConihe Correspondence. 
Brevet Brigadier-General and Colonel John McConihe, 169th New York Volunteer Infantry. 
Located at: Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Captain John McConihe Collection. 
Brevet Brigadier-General and Colonel John McConihe, 169th New York Volunteer Infantry. 
Located at: Schaffer Library, Union College, Schenectady, New York.

Manuscript Group 824, Smith Family Papers, 1667-1960.
Eugene Van Santvoord - Correspondence and papers concerning army service, 1864-1865 (10 letters).
Located at New Jersey Historical Society in Newark, N.J. 
See http://www.jerseyhistory.org/findingaid.php?aid=0824 for more information.
Thank you to Steve Wiezbicki for pointing out this resource.

McConihe, John. John McConihe Letter, 1862: Brevet Brigadier-General and Colonel John McConihe, 169th New York Volunteer Infantry. 1862. 
Obtained from http://www.soldierstudies.org/.

Ostrom, Lyman. Civil War Letters of Private Lyman Ostrom, Co. A, 169th N.Y.
Located at: The History Center in Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York.

Randall, James B. The Nunda Area Veterans Project: The Civil War Letters of Corporal James B. Randall.
Co. F, 169th N.Y.S.V. Infantry Regiment. 
http://www.nundahistory.org/randallinto.html

Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett, 1825-1894. History of Rensselaer Co., New York: with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, Press of J.B. Lippincott & Co. 1880. 
(1) The One Hundred and Sixty-Ninth N.Y. Vols.1880. Contains the history, organization and roster of officers of the 169th Regiment of New York Volunteers during the Civil War period. p. 91-106.
(2) Brig.-Gen. Alonzo Alden. p. 106-109, [1] leaf of plates: ill.
(3) Gen. John McConihe. p. 276-278, [1] leaf of plates: ill.
Available online at: http://archive.org/details/historyofrenssel00sylv

Weise, Arthur James. The Swartwout Chronicles, 1338-1899, and The Ketelhuyn Chronicles, 1451-1899. New York: Trow Directory, Printing and Bookbinding Co., 1899.
Chapter XIV, Descendants on the Upper Hudson, 1795-1899 (includes a historical sketch of the 169th N.Y., p. 509-522) 
Collection of Utica Public Library, Utica, N.Y.

Whitcomb, Robert and George M. Whitcomb. Papers, 2 December 1862 - 2 December 1867.
(Quartermaster-Sergeant Robert Whitcomb, Co. D, 169th N.Y., and Sergeant George M. Whitcomb, Co. D, 169th N.Y.) 
Located at: Schoff Civil War Collection, William L. Clements Library, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Whitcomb Family Correspondence, 29 October 1862 - 19 July 1877.
(Quartermaster-Sergeant Robert Whitcomb, Co. D, 169th N.Y., and Sergeant George M. Whitcomb, Co. D, 169th N.Y.) 
Located at: Collection of the Washington County Historian’s Office, Fort Edward, N.Y.

 

Items in the museum collection are in bold.