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The 29th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army of the United States during the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in December 1861 when three new companies were attached to a battalion of seven Massachusetts companies that had been in active service since May 1861.〔Bowen, 435.〕 These seven companies had been recruited to fill out the 3rd Massachusetts and 4th Massachusetts regiments and had signed on for three years of service. When the 3rd and 4th Massachusetts were mustered out in July 1861, the seven companies that had signed on for three years were grouped together to form a battalion known as the Massachusetts Battalion. Finally, in December 1861, three more companies were added to their roster to form a full regiment and the unit was designated the 29th Massachusetts. The regiment took part in 29 battles and four sieges in a variety of theaters of the war.〔Osborne, 339.〕 After their early service at Fortress Monroe in Virginia, the 29th was attached, in the spring of 1862, to the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsular Campaign as part of the famed Irish Brigade. The 29th had the distinction of being the only regiment of non-Irish ethnicity to serve in that brigade. In January 1863, the IX Corps (including the 29th Massachusetts) was transferred to Kentucky and engaged in operations against Confederate guerillas. In the summer of 1863, the IX Corps was again transferred and took part in the Siege of Vicksburg and the Siege of Jackson, Mississippi. In the fall of 1863, IX Corps took part in the Knoxville Campaign which resulted in the defeat of Confederate forces in eastern Tennessee. The spring of 1864 saw the IX Corps and the 29th Massachusetts once again returned to duty with the Army of the Potomac, just in time to take part in the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg. During the Siege of Petersburg, the unit suffered their worst casualties of the war in the Battle of Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865. The 29th was mustered out of service on August 11, 1865. Including the seven months served by most of the regiment before its designation as the 29th, the unit had one of the longest terms of service of any Massachusetts regiment—a total of four years and three months.〔Bowen, 451.〕 ==Massachusetts Battalion== On April 15, 1861, three days after the attack on Fort Sumter, the call went out from Massachusetts Governor John Andrew for the immediate mobilization of the four existing regiments of Massachusetts militia. The 3rd and 4th Massachusetts both left for Washington, D.C., on April 17 to serve a term of 90 days. But in their haste to reach the capital, these regiments had departed without a full complement of ten companies as required by army regulations. In the following weeks, seven additional companies were formed in Massachusetts and assigned to the 3rd and 4th to fill out their rosters. Unlike the majority of companies in the 3rd and 4th regiments, which had enlisted for 90 days, these new companies signed on for three years of service. These seven companies would eventually form the majority of the 29th Massachusetts.〔 While serving with the 3rd and the 4th Massachusetts, these companies were primarily garrisoned at Fortress Monroe at the end of the Virginia Peninsula.〔Bowen, 436.〕 This strategically important foothold in Virginia allowed Union forces to control the major waterway of Hampton Roads. In an unsuccessful effort to strengthen their hold on the Peninsula, Union troops marched from Fortress Monroe and attacked the Confederate position at Big Bethel Church, resulting in the Battle of Big Bethel on June 10, 1861. Two of the companies that would eventually become part of the 29th were involved in this action. The expedition was commanded by Colonel Ebenezer W. Peirce.〔Osborne, 62.〕 When the 3rd and 4th Massachusetts regiments were mustered out in July 1861, the seven "three-year" companies were consolidated on July 16 to form the "Massachusetts Battalion" under the command of Captain Joseph Barnes.〔Osborne, 75.〕 The battalion served relatively light garrison and guard duty at Fortress Monroe, Newport News and Hampton for the remainder of 1861. In December, three more companies were added to the battalion and, with a full complement of ten companies, the unit became known as the 29th Massachusetts Infantry.〔Osborne, 105.〕 Peirce was appointed the first commander of the 29th. The regimental historian recorded that this appointment was "exceedingly distasteful" to the 29th as there had been an expectation that Barnes, who had led the Massachusetts Battalion, would command the new regiment.〔Osborne, 107.〕 Barnes, however, was placed second in command to Peirce as lieutenant colonel. Further, Peirce was disliked for his failure at Big Bethel. During the winter of 1862, charges were brought against Peirce by officers of the 29th and he was court-martialed for incompetence and improper conduct. His superior officer, Brigadier General John E. Wool, overturned the ruling and Peirce remained in command of the 29th Massachusetts.〔Bowen, 137.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「29th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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