Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this unit’s role at the Siege of Petersburg? Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen. We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.
Muster In: Organized at Brooklyn, N.Y., September 10, 1861.1
Muster Out: Mustered out August 16, 1865.2
Commander(s):
Lieutenant Colonel William B. Coan
3
Captain Samuel M. Swartwout
4
Captain William H. Dunbar
Commander Image
Commander 4
Commander Image
First Offensive Order of Battle: Second Brigade | Second Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army5,6
- Commander:
- Unit Strength:
- Weapons:
- Enfield Rifles (.577 caliber) (June 30, 1864)7
- Springfield Rifles (.577 caliber) (June 30, 1864)8
Second Offensive Order of Battle: Second Brigade | Second Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army9,10
- Commander: Captain Samuel M. Swartwout (June 30, 1864)11
- Unit Strength:
- Weapons:
- Enfield Rifles (.577 caliber) (June 30, 1864)12
- Springfield Rifles (.577 caliber) (June 30, 1864)13
Third Offensive Order of Battle: Second Brigade | Second Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army14,15
- Commander:
- Major Samuel M. Swartwout (July 30, 1864)(killed July 30, 1864)16,17
- Captain Joseph Taylor (July 30, 1864)(after Major Swartwout was killed)18
- Captain William H. Dunbar (July 31, 1864)19
- Unit Strength:
- Weapons:
Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Second Brigade | Second Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army20,21
- Commander: Lieutenant Colonel William B. Coan (August 31, 1864)22
- Unit Strength:
- Weapons:
Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: Second Brigade | Second Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army23,24
- Commander:
- Unit Strength:
- Weapons: Enfield Rifles (.577 caliber) (September 30, 1864)25
Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Second Brigade | Second Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army26
- Commander: Lieutenant Colonel William B. Coan (October 31, 1864)27
- Unit Strength:
- Weapons:
- Note: The 48th New York does not appear to have taken part in the Battle of Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road on October 27-28, 1864, as it does not appear in a return of casualties for its brigade during that time.28
Seventh Offensive Order of Battle:
Second Brigade | Second Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army (November 1-December 3, 1864)29
Second Brigade | Second Division | XXIV Corps | Army of the James | Union Army (December 3-7, 1864)30
- Commander: Lieutenant Colonel William B. Coan (December 31, 1864)31
- Unit Strength:
- Weapons:
- Note: On December 3, 1864, the X Corps and XVIII Corps of the Army of the James were reorganized into the XXIV Corps and the XXV Corps.
- Note: In trenches before Richmond until December 7. Left to participate in the First Fort Fisher Expedition and never returned. 32
Eighth Offensive Order of Battle:
- No longer present at the Siege of Petersburg.33
Ninth Offensive Order of Battle:
- No longer present at the Siege of Petersburg.34
Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles35:
- Before Petersburg June 15-18.
- Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond June 16 to December 7, 1864.
- Bermuda Hundred June 25.
- Mine Explosion, Petersburg, July 30.
- Demonstration on north side of the James August 13-20.
- Strawberry Plains, Deep Bottom, August 14-18.
- Bermuda Hundred August 24-25.
- Chaffin’s Farm, New Market Heights, September 28-30.
- Fair Oaks October 27-28.
- Left Petersburg front on December 7.
Bibliography:
Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:
- 1864 Election Returns: Army of the James
- LT: May 23, 1864 Elias S. Peck
- NP: July 10, 1864 Sunday Mercury (New York): 48th NY Guards the 18th Corps Trains, June 1864
- NP: August 14, 1864 Sunday Mercury (New York): The 48th NY at the Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864
Sources:
- A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
- A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
- William B. Coan image. MOLLUS-Mass Civil War Photograph Collection, Vol. 21, Page 1047. United States Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA. ↩
- Samuel M. Swartwout image. MOLLUS-Mass Civil War Photograph Collection, Vol. 21, Page 1046. United States Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA. ↩
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), p. 234 ↩
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), p. 553 ↩
- Volume 13 (Ordnance Returns for the Second Quarter, April-June, 1864); 48th New York Entry, Page 113; 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. ↩
- Volume 13 (Ordnance Returns for the Second Quarter, April-June, 1864); 48th New York Entry, Page 113; 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. ↩
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), p. 234 ↩
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), p. 553 ↩
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), p. 553 ↩
- Volume 13 (Ordnance Returns for the Second Quarter, April-June, 1864); 48th New York Entry, Page 113; 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. ↩
- Volume 13 (Ordnance Returns for the Second Quarter, April-June, 1864); 48th New York Entry, Page 113; 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. ↩
- 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 264 ↩
- 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 738 ↩
- “Forty-eighth Regiment, N. Y. V.” Sunday Mercury (New York, New York). August 14, 1864, p. 7 col. 3: “In the fight of the 30th, we lost Major S. M. Swartwout, and Lieutenant J. O’Brien, and eight men killed, and thirty wounded…” ↩
- Schmutz, John F. The Battle of the Crater: A Complete History (McFarland: 2009), p. 348 ↩
- Schmutz, John F. The Battle of the Crater: A Complete History (McFarland: 2009), p. 348 ↩
- 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 738 ↩
- 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 620: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864” ↩
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 120: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces (August 1864)” ↩
- 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 620: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864” ↩
- 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. 1303. ↩
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 133: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces (September-October 1864)” ↩
- Volume 15 (Ordnance Returns for the Third Quarter, July-September, 1864); 48th New York Entry, Page 109; 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. ↩
- 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 465: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)” ↩
- 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 465: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)” ↩
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 149: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces…Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road, Va., October 27-28, 1864” ↩
- A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
- 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 1124: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864) ↩
- 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 1124: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864) ↩
- A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
- A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
- A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
- A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩