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15th New York Engineers

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Muster In: Organized at Washington, D.C.. October 25, 1861, from 15th Regiment New York Infantry.1
Muster Out: Mustered out Companies “E,” “F,” “G,” “H,” “I,” “K,” “L” and “M” at Washington, D.C., June 13, 1865; Companies “C” June 14, 1865, and Companies “A,” “B” and “D” July 2, 1865.2

Commander(s):
Major William A. Ketchum
Commander Image

Commander 2
Commander Image

Commander 3
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: Volunteer Engineer Brigade | Army of the Potomac | Union Army3,4

Second Offensive Order of Battle: Volunteer Engineer Brigade | Army of the Potomac | Union Army8,9

  • Commander: Major William A. Ketchum (June 30, 1864)10
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons: Enfield Rifles (.577 caliber) (June 30, 1864)11
  • Note: The 15th New York Engineers had 5 companies during this time.12,13

Third Offensive Order of Battle: Volunteer Engineer Brigade | Army of the Potomac | Union Army14,15

  • Commander: Major William A. Ketchum (July 31, 1864)16
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: The 15th New York Engineers had 5 companies during this time.17,18

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Volunteer Engineer Brigade | Army of the Potomac | Union Army19

  • Commander: Major William A. Ketchum (August 31, 1864)20
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: The 15th New York Engineers had 5 companies during this time.21

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: Volunteer Engineer Brigade | Army of the Potomac | Union Army22

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons: Enfield Rifles (.577 caliber) (September 30, 1864)23
  • Note: Company C of the 15th New York Engineers was located at Deep Bottom and operated with Butler’s Army of the James during the Fifth Offensive.24

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Engineer Brigade and Defenses of City Point | Army of the Potomac | Union Army25

  • Commander: Major William A. Ketchum (October 31, 1864)26
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: The 15th New York Engineers had six (6 companies) at this time.27

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: Volunteer Engineer Brigade | Army of the Potomac | Union Army28

  • Commander: Colonel Wesley Brainerd (December 31, 1864)29
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: The 15th New York Engineers had six (6 companies) at this time.30

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: Volunteer Engineer Brigade | Army of the Potomac | Union Army31,32

  • Commander: Colonel Wesley Brainerd (also temporarily in command of the Engineer Brigade and Defenses of City Point while BG Henry W. Benham was away  in January 1865)(January 31 & February 28, 1865)33,34
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: Volunteer Engineer Brigade | Army of the Potomac | Union Army35,36

  • Commander: Colonel Wesley Brainerd (March 31, 1865)37
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: The 15th New York Engineers consisted of nine (9) companies at this time.38,39

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles40:

  • Crossing of James River June 15.
  • Before Petersburg June 16-18.
  • Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865.
  • Deep Bottom July 27-28, 1864.
  • Hatcher’s Run February 5-7, 1865.
  • Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9.
  • Fall of Petersburg and Richmond April 2-3.
  • Pursuit of Lee April 3-9.
  • Appomattox Court House April 9.
  • Surrender of Lee and his army.

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
    2. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
    3. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 219 ↩
    4. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), page 542 ↩
    5. Volume 13 (Ordnance Returns for the Second Quarter, April-June, 1864); 15th New York Engineers Entry, Page 111; Summary Statements of Quarterly Returns of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores on Hand in Regular and Volunteer Army Organizations, 1862-1867, 1870-1876. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1281, Roll 7); Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, 1797-1969, Record Group 156; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    6. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 219 ↩
    7. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), page 542 ↩
    8. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 219 ↩
    9. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), page 542 ↩
    10. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), page 542 ↩
    11. Volume 13 (Ordnance Returns for the Second Quarter, April-June, 1864); 15th New York Engineers Entry, Page 111; Summary Statements of Quarterly Returns of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores on Hand in Regular and Volunteer Army Organizations, 1862-1867, 1870-1876. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1281, Roll 7); Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, 1797-1969, Record Group 156; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    12. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 219 ↩
    13. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), page 542 ↩
    14. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 251 ↩
    15. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 3 (Serial Number 82), page 729 ↩
    16. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 3 (Serial Number 82), page 729 ↩
    17. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 251 ↩
    18. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 3 (Serial Number 82), page 729 ↩
    19. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 2 (Serial Number 88), page 611: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864” ↩
    20. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 2 (Serial Number 88), page 611: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864” ↩
    21. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 2 (Serial Number 88), page 611: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864” ↩
    22. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1297. ↩
    23. Volume 15 (Ordnance Returns for the Third Quarter, July-September, 1864); 15th New York Engineers Entry, Page 107; Summary Statements of Quarterly Returns of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores on Hand in Regular and Volunteer Army Organizations, 1862-1867, 1870-1876. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1281, Roll 7); Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, 1797-1969, Record Group 156; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    24. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1297. ↩
    25. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 458: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)” ↩
    26. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 458: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)” ↩
    27. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 458: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)” ↩
    28. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 1114: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864) ↩
    29. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 1114: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864) ↩
    30. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 1114: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864) ↩
    31. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 324: “Organization of the Union Forces” (January 31, 1865) ↩
    32. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 738: “Organization of the Union Forces” (February 28, 1865) ↩
    33. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 324: “Organization of the Union Forces” (January 31, 1865) ↩
    34. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 738: “Organization of the Union Forces” (February 28, 1865) ↩
    35. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), page 565: “Organization of the Union Forces” (March 31, 1865) ↩
    36. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), page 581: “Return of casualties in the Union Forces commanded by Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, March 29-April 9, 1865” ↩
    37. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), page 565: “Organization of the Union Forces” (March 31, 1865) ↩
    38. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), page 565: “Organization of the Union Forces” (March 31, 1865) ↩
    39. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), page 581: “Return of casualties in the Union Forces commanded by Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, March 29-April 9, 1865” ↩
    40. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩

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