New York provided 413,686 men to the Union Army during the Civil War. This was the largest number of any state, and almost a third more than the second largest contributor, Pennsylvania.
Infantry: 254 regiments and 1 battalion Sharpshooters: 1 battalion and 4 independent companies Cavalry: 32 regiments, 1 battalion and 3 independent companies of cavalry Heavy Artillery: 26 regiments and 5 battalions Light Artilery: 6 battalions and 66 batteries of light artilery Engineers: 4 regiments
Links go to the pages of individual histories of each unit.
Infantry, Militia/National Guard and Sharpshooters
New York had an extensive militia system before the war, and after the outbreak of fighting in April, 1861 it authorized the creation of 38 regiments of volunteer militia. At first these were to be organized into four divisions and nine brigades commanded by general officers appointed by the state, but the War Department refused to recognize generals not appointed by the President. Regiments were thus accepted into Federal service and placed into brigades and divisions with units from other states.
The original New York organizations that left the state in 1861 were a mixture of volunteer infantry and state militia. Later in the year some militia units that continued on in Federal serice were given a state numeric designation, usually diifferent from their militia number. This led to some confusion and controversy. For example, the 14th New York State Militia fought heroically at Bull Run, and when they were redesignated the 84th Infantry they protested, and fought to retain their famous militia identity.
In April of 1862 legislation changed the designation of the armed and uniformed ‘Militia’ to ‘National Guard.’
Notes: ** = served outside the Eastern Theater; x= did not complete organization *
Twenty-seven regiments and two companies of New York cavalry served in the eastern theater. The 14th Cavalry Regiment did not serve in the eastern theater and the 17th Cavalry failed to complete its organization.