New York 142nd Infantry (Union)

Gettysburg

In the summer of 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched his second invasion of the Northern states. Lee sought to capitalize on recent Confederate victories and defeat the Union army on Northern soil, which he hoped would force the Lincoln administration to negotiate for peace. Lee also sought to take the war out of the ravaged Virginia farmland and gather supplies for his Army of Northern Virginia. Using the Shenandoah Valley as cover for his army, Lee was pursued first by Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Ho…READ MORE

Brigadier GeneralAdelbert Ames

ColonelHenry R. Guss

Brigadier GeneralAdelbert Ames

Brigadier GeneralCharles Devens Jr.

Cold Harbor

After two days of inconclusive fighting along Totopotomoy Creek northeast of Richmond, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee turned their sights on the crossroads of Cold Harbor. Roads emanating through this critical junction led to Richmond as well as supply and reinforcement sources for the Union army. On May 31, 1864, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's cavalry captured Cold Harbor. The next day, Sheridan held the crossroads against a Confederate attack. With reinforcements from both armies arriving…READ MORE

Second Petersburg

As the Overland Campaign concluded, the strategic goals of Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant shifted from the defeat of Robert E. Lee's army in the field to eliminating the supply and communication routes to the Confederate capital at Richmond. The city of Petersburg, 24 miles south of Richmond, was the junction point of five railroads that supplied the entire upper James River region. Grant knew Petersburg was the key to the capture of Richmond and that Lee would be forced to defend it. Marching south from Co…READ MORE

Crater

Two weeks after Union forces arrived to invest the Confederate defenders of Petersburg, the battle lines of both sides had settled into a stalemate. Since Cold Harbor, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was reluctant to mount a frontal attack against well-entrenched Confederates. By late June, Grant's lines covered most of the eastern approaches to Petersburg, but neither side seemed ready to risk an offensive move. Part of the Union line was held by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's Ninth Corps. Some of Burnside'…READ MORE

Lieutenant ColonelAlbert M. Barney

ColonelRufus Daggett & Ltc Albert M. Barney

Brigadier GeneralRobert Sanford Foster

ColonelRufus Daggett & Ltc Albert M. Barney

Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fair_Oaks_%26_Darbytown_RoadREAD MORE

First Fort Fisher

The first assault on Fort Fisher was made in December 1864 by Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, who withdrew when he realized a direct assault on the fort would be costly, and that Confederate reinforcements were only a few miles away.READ MORE

Brevet BG N. Martin Curtis 15 Jan

MajorEzra L. Walrath

Brigadier GeneralAdelbert Ames

Brevet BG N. Martin Curtis 15 Jan

Second Fort Fisher

By January 1865, Fort Fisher on the North Carolina shore was the last coastal stronghold of the Confederacy. The fort protected blockade running vessels entering and departing Wilmington, the South's last open seaport on the Atlantic coast. Maj. Gen. Alfred Terry was placed in command of a Provisional Corps from the Army of the James, and was supported by a Navy and Marine Corps force of nearly 60 vessels under Rear Adm. David D. Porter. Terry's orders were to renew operations against the fort that had fai…READ MORE