20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, also known as the "Harvard Regiment", was a regiment of infantry in the American Civil War
. The regiment was so nicknamed because the officers of the 20th were young Harvard graduates. In addition some, but not all, the private soldiers had attended Harvard. The 20th was organized at Readville
August 29 to September 4, 1861. After training they left Massachusetts
for Washington, D. C., September 4. They would fight until the war's conclusion; being mustered out on July 16 and discharged July 28, 1865.
, to March, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Army Corps, to July, 1865.
the 20th participated in all of the major battles and many of the smaller battles fought by the Army of the Potomac. Their baptism of fire occurred at Ball's Bluff
on October 21, 1861. Other battles included the Seven Days
, Fredericksburg
, Chancellorsville
, Gettysburg
, the Wilderness
, Spottsylvania Court House the Siege of Petersburg
and the Appomattox
Campaign.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The regiment was so nicknamed because the officers of the 20th were young Harvard graduates. In addition some, but not all, the private soldiers had attended Harvard. The 20th was organized at Readville
Readville, Massachusetts
Readville, called Low Plains from 1655 until renaming in 1847 after Mr. James Read originally part of Dedham until 1867 but now a part of Boston, is considered either a part of the Hyde Park neighborhood, or a neighborhood in its own right. It is served by Readville station on the MBTA Commuter Rail...
August 29 to September 4, 1861. After training they left Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
for Washington, D. C., September 4. They would fight until the war's conclusion; being mustered out on July 16 and discharged July 28, 1865.
Brigade, divisional and corps attachments
Attached to Ladder's Brigade, Division of the Potomac, to October, 1861. Lander's Brigade, Stone's (Sedgwick's) Division, Army of the PotomacArmy of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
, to March, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Army Corps, to July, 1865.
Battles
With the exception of First Bull RunFirst Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
the 20th participated in all of the major battles and many of the smaller battles fought by the Army of the Potomac. Their baptism of fire occurred at Ball's Bluff
Battle of Ball's Bluff
The Battle of Ball's Bluff, also known as the Battle of Harrison’s Island or the Battle of Leesburg, was fought on October 21, 1861, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of Union Maj. Gen. George B...
on October 21, 1861. Other battles included the Seven Days
Seven Days Battles
The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...
, Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
, Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
, Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
, Spottsylvania Court House the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
and the Appomattox
Battle of Appomattox Courthouse
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was the final engagement of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and one of the last battles of the American...
Campaign.
Casualties
The 20th regiment lost 17 officers and 243 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded. One officer and 148 enlisted men by disease. Total casualties were 409. The regiment ranks first among Massachusetts regiments and fifth among Union regiments in total casualties.Notable members
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...
- Paul J. Revere
- Norwood "Pen" HallowellNorwood Penrose HallowellNorwood Penrose "Pen" Hallowell was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. One of three brothers to serve with distinction during the war, he and his brother Edward Needles Hallowell both became commanders of the first all-black regiments...
- Edward Needles HallowellEdward Needles HallowellEdward "Ned" Needles Hallowell was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, commanding the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry following the death of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner in 1863.-Early life:Edward grew up in a well-to-do Quaker family...
- William Penrose Hallowell
- Maj Gen General George Nelson Macy
See also
- List of Massachusetts Civil War units
- Massachusetts in the Civil WarMassachusetts in the Civil WarThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts played a significant role in national events prior to and during the American Civil War. Massachusetts dominated the early antislavery movement during the 1830s, motivating activists across the nation. This, in turn, increased sectionalism in the North and South,...