The 12th Indiana Infantry Regiment was an
infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation.
In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
in the
Union Army during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
Service
The 12th Indiana Infantry was organized at
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
,
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
May 27 through August 27, 1862, and mustered in on August 17, 1862, for three year's service under the command of
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
William H. Link.
The regiment was attached to Cruft's Brigade,
Army of Kentucky
The Army of Kentucky was the name of two Union Army formations. Both were small and short-lived, serving in Kentucky in 1862 in 1863.
Army of August 1862
On August 25, 1862, Major General William "Bull" Nelson assumed command of the forces stati ...
, August 30. Attached to 2nd Brigade, District of Memphis, Tennessee,
XIII Corps, to December 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, District of Memphis, XIII Corps, December 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division,
XVII Corps,
Army of the Tennessee
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union Army, Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. A 2005 study of the army states that it "was present at most of the great battles that became turning points ...
, to January 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Division,
XVI Corps, to July 1863. 1st Brigade, 4th Division,
XV Corps, to September 1864. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, XV Corps, to June 1865.
The 12th Indiana Infantry mustered out of service after June 24, 1865. Veterans and recruits were transferred to the 48th Indiana Infantry and
59th Indiana Infantry.
Detailed service
* Left Indiana for
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
August 21.
*
Battle of Richmond
The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, fought August 29–30, 1862, was one of the most complete Confederate victories in the American Civil War by Major General Edmund Kirby Smith against Union major general William "Bull" Nelson's forces, whic ...
, Kentucky, August 30. Regiment mostly captured.
* Paroled and sent to Indianapolis, for reorganization.
* Action at Lexington, Kentucky, September 2 (detachment).
* Regiment left Indianapolis, for Memphis, Tennessee, November 23, 1862.
* Grant's
Central Mississippi Campaign November–December 1862.
* Action at Holly Springs, Mississippi, December 20, 1862.
* Duty at
Grand Junction and
Colliersville, Tennessee, guarding
Memphis and Charleston Railroad
The Memphis and Charleston Railroad, completed in 1857, was the first railroad in the United States to link the Atlantic Ocean with the Mississippi River. Chartered in 1846, the gauge railroad ran from Memphis, Tennessee, to Stevenson, Alabama ...
until June 1863.
* Ordered to Vicksburg, Mississippi, June 9.
*
Siege of Vicksburg
The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...
June 12-July 4.
* Advance on Jackson, Mississippi, July 4–10.
*
Siege of Jackson July 10–17.
* Duty at Big Black until September 28.
* Moved to Memphis, Tennessee, then marched to Chattanooga, Tennessee, September 28-November 20.
* Operations on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad in Alabama October 20–29.
*
Chattanooga Campaign
The Chattanooga campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Major general (United States), Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army, Union Army of the C ...
November 23–27.
*
Tunnel Hill November 23–25.
*
Battle of Missionary Ridge
The Battle of Missionary Ridge, also known as the Battle of Chattanooga, was fought on November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union Army, Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on ...
November 25.
* March to relief of
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
, November 28-December 8.
* Duty at
Scottsboro, Alabama
Scottsboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Alabama, United States. The city was named for its founder Robert T. Scott. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 15,578.
From its incorporation in 1870 until 1890, ...
, until May 1864.
*
Atlanta Campaign May 1-September 8.
* Demonstrations on Resaca May 8–13. Near Resaca May 13.
*
Battle of Resaca
The Battle of Resaca, from May 13 to 15, 1864, formed part of the Atlanta Campaign during the American Civil War, when a Union force under William Tecumseh Sherman engaged the Confederate Army of Tennessee led by Joseph E. Johnston. The battle ...
May 14–15.
* Movements on Dallas May 18–25.
* Battles about
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
New Hope Church, and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5.
* Operations about Marietta and against
Kennesaw Mountain
Kennesaw Mountain is a mountain between Marietta and Kennesaw, Georgia in the United States with a summit elevation of . It is the highest point in the core ( urban and suburban) metro Atlanta area, and fifth after further-north exurban count ...
June 10-July 2.
* Brush Mountain June 15.
* Assault on Kennesaw June 27.
* Nickajack Creek July 2–5.
* Chattahoochee River July 5–17.
*
Battle of Atlanta
The Battle of Atlanta took place during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Union forces ...
July 22.
*
Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25.
*
Battle of Ezra Chapel, Hood's 2nd sortie, July 28.
* Flank movement on
Jonesborough August 25–30.
*
Battle of Jonesborough
The Battle of Jonesborough (August 31–September 1, 1864) was fought between Union Army forces led by William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces under William J. Hardee during the Atlanta Campaign in the Am ...
August 31-September 1.
*
Battle of Lovejoy's Station
The Battle of Lovejoy's Station was fought on August 20, 1864, near what is now Lovejoy, Georgia, in Clayton County, Georgia, Clayton County, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The two sides had arrived at something of a stal ...
September 2–6.
* Operations against Hood in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29-November 3.
*
Sherman's March to the Sea November 15-December 10.
*
Siege of Savannah
The siege of Savannah or the second battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...
December 10–21.
*
Campaign of the Carolinas January to April 1865.
* Reconnaissance to
Salkehatchie River, South Carolina, January 25.
*
Battle of Rivers' Bridge February 2–5.
* South Edisto River February 9.
* North Edisto River February 12–13.
* Congaree Creek February 15.
* Columbia February 16–17.
*
Battle of Bentonville
The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last ...
, March 20–21.
* Occupation of Goldsboro March 24.
* Advance on Raleigh April 10–14.
* Occupation of Raleigh April 14.
* Bennett's House April 26.
* Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Virginia, April 29-May 20.
*
Grand Review of the Armies
The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in th ...
June 24, 1865.
Casualties
The regiment lost a total of 295 men; 8 officers and 92 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 193 enlisted men due to disease.
Commanders
* Colonel William H. Link - mortally wounded at the Battle of Richmond; died September 20, 1862
* Colonel Reuben Williams
See also
*
List of Indiana Civil War regiments
List of military units raised by the state of Indiana during the American Civil War.
Artillery units
Cavalry
''Note: Cavalry regiments also had infantry designations.''
*1st Indiana Cavalry Regiment (28th Infantry)
*2nd Indiana Cavalry R ...
*
Indiana in the Civil War
Indiana, a state in the Midwest, played an important role in supporting the Union during the American Civil War. Despite anti-war activity within the state, and southern Indiana's ancestral ties to the South, Indiana was a strong supporter of ...
Notes/References/Sources
Notes
References
Sources
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{{Indiana in the Civil War
Military units and formations established in 1862
Military units and formations disestablished in 1865
Units and formations of the Union army from Indiana
1862 establishments in Indiana