The 5th Maryland Volunteer 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 ...

that served 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 5th Maryland Infantry was organized at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in September 1861 for three-years service and mustered in 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 Louis Schley. The regiment was attached to Dix's Division, Baltimore, Maryland, to March 1862. Fort Monroe, Virginia, to July 1862. Weber's Brigade, Division at Suffolk, Virginia,

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII ...

Department of Virginia 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 ...

, to September 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division,

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

, to December 1862. Point of Rocks Defenses, Upper Potomac,

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Arm ...

Middle Department The Middle Department was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Middle Atlantic states. The department was created on March 22, 1862 by the ...

, to March 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, VIII Corps, to July 1863. Defenses of Baltimore, Maryland, VIII Corps, to January 1864. District of Delaware, VIII Corps, to June 1864. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XVIII Corps,

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. History The Union Department ...

, to August 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XVIII Corps, to December 1864. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXIV Corps, to July 1865. 2nd Independent Brigade, XXIV Corps, to September 1865. The 5th Maryland Infantry mustered out of the service on September 1, 1865 at Fredericksburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Detailed service

Camp at LaFayette Square, Baltimore, Md., until March 1862. Ordered to Fort Monroe, Va., March 11, 1862. Duty there and at Suffolk, Va., to September 1862. Moved to Washington, D.C., then to Antietam, Md., September 8–16. Battle of Antietam, September 16–17. Moved to Harpers Ferry September 22 and duty there until January 1863. Reconnaissance to Charleston October 16–17. At Point of Rocks and Maryland Heights protecting the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad until June 1863. Moved to Winchester, Va., June 2. Battle of Winchester June 13–15, where the regiment was mostly captured. Members of the regiment not captured were at Bloody Run, Pa., and Loudon, Pa., until July. Duty in the defenses of Baltimore, Middle Department, until January 1864, and in the District of Delaware, Middle Department, until June 1864. Ordered to join the Army of the Potomac in the field June 4, 1864. Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond, Va., June 16, 1864 to April 2, 1865. Mine Explosion, Petersburg, July 30, 1864 (reserve). Duty in trenches before Petersburg until September 27. Battle of Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 28–30. Battle of Fair Oaks October 27–28. Duty in trenches before Richmond until April 1865. Occupation of Richmond April 3. Pursuit of Lee to Appomattox Court House April 3–9. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Duty in the Department of Virginia until September.

Commanders

* Colonel William Louis Schley * Colonel William W. Barnberger - commanded the regiment at the Battle of Antietam while still at the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

until he was also wounded in action. At which point still in command of the 5th, directed the movement of the picket line leading to Richmond, and along with the 12th New Hampshire volunteers as well as the 9th Vermont, were the first to enter Richmond on the 2 April 1865. *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Leopold Blumenberg - commanded at the Battle of Antietam until wounded in action * Captain Ernest F. M. Faehtz - commanded at the Battle of Antietam after Cpt. Marsh was wounded and captured * Captain Salome Marsh - commanded at the Battle of Antietam after Cpt. Barnberger was wounded, until he was wounded and captured

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 161 men during service; 1 officer and 63 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, and 6 officers and 91 enlisted men due to disease.

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Racine, J. Polk. ''Recollections of a Veteran; or, Four Years in Dixie'' (Elkton, MD: Appeal Print. Off.), 1894. eprinted in 1987;Attribution *

External links