The 132nd New York Infantry Regiment, the "Second Regiment, Spinola's Empire Brigade"; or "Hillhouse Light Infantry", 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 ...

of 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 regiment was raised in July 1862, and was finally organized at

East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough line to the north; ...

by consolidating with the

Thurlow Weed Edward Thurlow Weed (November 15, 1797 – November 22, 1882) was an American printer, newspaper publisher, and Whig Party (United States), Whig and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician. He was the principal political advisor t ...

Guards as part of the Spinola Brigade, and nearly all the men recruited for the 53d N. Y. Volunteers, second organization; it was mustered in for three years October 4, 1862, at

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

; June 15, 1865, the men not to be mustered out with the regiment were transferred to the 99th Infantry. The companies were recruited principally: * A at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and Newtown; * B, F, I and K at New York City, Brooklyn and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

; * C and E at New York City; * D at Brooklyn,

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

, Lewiston and the reservations of the Allegany, Cattaraugus and

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **'' Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

Indians; * G at

Suspension Bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

, Buffalo, New York City and Brooklyn; and * H at New York city,

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, Buffalo and

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. The regiment left the state and served at and near Washington from September, 1862; at

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, then

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, from October, 1862; in the 1st Spinola Brigade, 5th Division, 18th Corps, from December, 1862; in the 2d Brigade, 5th Division, 18th Corps, from March, 1863; unattached, on outpost duty, near

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

, from May, 1863; in Palmer's Brigade, Peck's Division, 18th Corps, from January, 1864; in

Department of Virginia and North Carolina The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863, it was formed by the merging of two previously existing departm ...

, from April, 1864; in the Provisional Corps, North Carolina, from March I, 1865; in the 1st Brigade, 2d Division, 23d Corps, from April 2, 1865; at

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury ( ) is a city in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. ...

, from May, 1865; and was honorably discharged and mustered out, June 29, 1865, at Salisbury. The regiment spent nearly its entire term of service in North Carolina, engaged in outpost and garrison duty. The regiment took part in engagements at various locations in the state, and in the Carolinas Campaign at Wise's Forks, Snow Hill, and Bennett's House. The regiment sustained its worst losses at the battle of New Bern in February, 1864, when it lost 91 killed, wounded and missing. During this battle, three companies defended the bridge on Bachelor's Creek (a tributary of the

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in N ...

) against three successive attacks of the enemy, but were finally forced to retire when the enemy was reinforced, after 4 hours of hard fighting. The 132nd is credited with saving New Bern from capture on this occasion. Lieut. Arnold Zenette, the only commissioned officer killed, fell in this action. At the battle of Wise's Forks the regiment lost 24 killed, wounded and missing. Company D was known as the Tuscarora Company, being led by Lieutenant Cornelius C. Cusick, a chief of the Tuscarora.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment left the state about 900 strong; during its service the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 1 officer, 6 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 7 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 1 officer, 159 enlisted men; total, 2 officers, 172 enlisted men; aggregate, 174; of whom 71 enlisted men died in the hands of the enemy, and 28 through the accidental explosion of torpedoes at Bachelor's Creek, North Carolina, May 26, 1864. Among the troops were a number of men of color enlisted as cooks in 1863 and 1864 at New Berne, N.C.132nd Infantry Unit Roster
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Commanders

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 ...

Peter J. Claassen * Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Prescott * Lieutenant Colonel George H. Hitchcock

Notes

References

The Civil War Archive

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150610210524/http://www.civilwarintheeast.com/USA/NY/NY132.php Civil War in the East 132nd New York Infantry Regiment "2nd Regiment Empire Brigade "br>National Park Service Regiment Details UNION NEW YORK VOLUNTEERSHeadquarters, Outposts, Bachelor's Creek Near New Bern, NC Pencil sketch done in 1863 by its commander, George H. HitchcockAccount of the Battle of Bachelor’s Creek, NC with sketch by American Indian Union officer #cw150
{{American Civil War , expanded=CTCBS Infantry 132 1862 establishments in New York (state) Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865