22nd Infantry Regiment

Nickname: Second Northern New York Regiment; Second Troy Regiment; Second Northern Tier Regiment

Mustered in: June 6, 1861
Mustered out: June 19, 1863

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

This regiment, Col. Walter Phelps, Jr., was accepted by the State and numerically designated May 14, 1861; organized at Troy and there mustered in the service of the United States, for two years, June 6, 1861. The three years' men of the regiment, but a few, were in June, 1863, transferred to the 76th and 93d N. Y. Volunteers. The companies were organized: A at Waterford and Cohoes; B and I at Fort Edward; C at Keeseville; D at Cambridge; E and F at Glens Falls. The first Company G was organized May 7 and disbanded June 1, 1861; the second Company G, originally The Whitehall Light Guards, was organized at Whitehall; Company H at Sandy Hill, and Company K at Port Henry. The men were recruited principally in the counties of Albany, Clinton, Essex, Saratoga, Warren and Washington.
The regiment left the State June 28, 1861; passing through Baltimore, Md., it had one man killed by a mob; it served at and near Washington, D. C, from July 1, 1861; in Keyes' Brigade, Division of Potomac, from August 4, 1861; in same brigade, McDowell's Division, Army of the Potomac, from October 15, 1861; in Augur's Brigade, from January, 1862; in 2d Brigade, 3d Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac, from March 13, 1862; in 1st Brigade, King's Division, Department of Rappahannock, from May, 1862; in 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 3d Corps, Army of Virginia, from June 26, 1862; in same brigade and division, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac, from September 12, 1862; and it was honorably discharged and mustered out, under Colonel Phelps, June 19, 1863, at Albany.
During its service the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 7 officers, 42 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 4 officers, 19 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 1 officer, 27 enlisted men; total, 12 officers, 88 enlisted men; aggregate, 100; of whom 1 enlisted man 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.

Twenty-second Infantry.—Col., Walter Phelps, Jr.; Lieut.-Cols., Gorton F. Thomas, John McKee, Jr., Thomas J. Strong; Majs., Johrr McKee, Jr., George Clendon, Jr., Thomas J. Strong, Lyman Ormsby. The 22nd, known as the 2nd Northern New York regiment, was composed of four companies from Washington county, three from Essex, two from Warren and one from Saratoga county and was mustered into the U. S. service at Camp Rathbone, Troy, on June 6, 1861, for two years. A fortnight later it moved to Albany, where it remained until June 28, when it left for Washington. It encamped on Meridian hill until July 24, when it moved to Arlington heights, where it was assigned to Gen. Keyes' brigade, which in March, 1862, became the 3d brigade, 3d division, 1st corps. Winter quarters were occupied at Upton's hill until March 10, 1862, when the regiment joined in the movement to Centerville, but returned to Upton's hill immediately afterward, and proceeded to Falmouth in April. In June the regiment became a part of the 1st brigade, 1st division, 3d corps, Army of Virginia, and in Sept., 1862, the same brigade and division, was made part of the 1st corps, Army of the Potomac. This brigade was known as the Iron Brigade before the Iron Brigade of the West was formed. At Manassas the loss of the regiment was 180 killed, wounded or missing, out of, 379 engaged, of whom 46 were killed or mortally wounded, or over 12 per cent. of 24 officers present, 19 were killed or wounded, 9 mortally, among them Lieut.-Col. Thomas. The first week of September was spent in camp at Upton's hill and it next advanced to South mountain, where it was closely engaged, then to Antietam, where again the loss was heavy. About the middle of November,; the command arrived at Falmouth and participated in the battle of Fredericksburg, being stationed on the extreme left of the army. It then returned to camp at Falmouth and joined in the "Mud March," after which it went into winter quarters at Belle Plain, On April 28, 1863, camp was broken for the Chancellorsville movement, during which the regiment was held in reserve and met its only loss at Pollock's Mill creek, where 10 men were wounded while acting as rear-guard. The regiment was mustered out at Albany, June 19, 1863, having lost 72 men by death from wounds and 28 by death from other causes.

NYSMM Online Resources

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

Muster Roll

Unit Roster

Newspaper Clippings

Historical Sketch

Search the Museum catalog for this unit

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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.

Cunningham, Roger. '"Always a Storm Centre:" The Trials and Tribulations of Lt. Col. Asa Bird Gardiner.' The Journal of America's Military Past. (Fall, 2006) 5-28.

Higley, Albert E. and Joan F. Aldous. The Civil War letters of Albert E. Higley. J.F. Aldous: 1986.

McCoy, James. "Extracts from journal of Captain . . . Twenty-second regiment, New York state volunteers." In Fifth annual report of the New York state Bureau of military statistics, 1868, p. 544-59.

Phelps, Walter. The Walter Phelps Jr. papers, 1861-1877
Abstract: Contains the following types of materials: correspondence, awards / certificates, organizational documents, leaflets / brochures, diary / journal, maps / charts, photos, ephemera, and scrapbook. Contains information pertaining to the following war and time period: Civil War, 1861-1877. Contains information pertaining to the following military unit: 22nd New York Infantry Regiment. General description of the collection: Walter Phelps Jr. papers include letters to wife, diaries, maps, muster rolls of 22nd New York Volunteers, scrapbook of newspaper clippings, private diary with sketches, clippings, reports on battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg, Life Insurance Policy, and Journals, 1873-1877.
2 boxes
Located at the US Army Military Heritage Institute in Carlisle, PA.

Ranger, Frederick E. Letters, 1862.
6 pages. 
Letters, 1862 and n.d., sent from Frederick E. Ranger, 22nd New York Infantry Regiment, while on duty in Virginia. Includes letter, n.d., sent to an undetermined recipient asking for clothes and letter, 4 May 1862, sent to Fred Ranger, his father in Warren County, New York, concerning troop morale, his opinion of generals and military leadership, and family matters. There are also typed transcripts of the letters.
Accession 40757. Located at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
Thank you to Ed Worman for pointing out this resource.

Tyrel Family. Correspondence, 1855-1882. 
Abstract: Correspondence of Charles Tyrel from Union Army camps in Virginia and Pennsylvania to his wife and other family members. Also included are letters of Enos Tyrel, from Union Army camps in Virginia, Georgia and Maryland to family members. The collection also includes correspondence of other family members, including Emeline Perry Tyrel.
Originals located at the Henry Sheldon Museum in Middlebury, Vermont

Watson, Winslow Cossoul. Eulogium commemorative of Gorton T. Thomas, Lieutenant Colonel 22d regiment, New York volunteers, delivered at Keeseville, N.Y., September 10, 1862, by Winslow C. Watson. Burlington, VT: Free Press print, 1862.
Oringinal located at the US Military Academy at West Point.

 

Items the museum holds are in bold.