51st New York Infantry

Regimental History and Service Record

"Shepard Rifles"

Organized at New York City July 27 to October 23, 1861. Left State for Annapolis, Md., October 29. Attached to Reno's 2nd Brigade, Burnside's North Carolina Expeditionary Corps, to April, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Dept. of North Carolina, to July, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to April, 1863, Army of the Ohio to June, 1863, Army of the Tennessee to August, 1863, and Army of the Ohio, to September, 1863. District of North Central Kentucky, 1st Division, 23rd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, to February, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to April, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to May 26, 1864. Engineers, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps, to July 2, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps, to July, 1865.

SERVICE.--Duty at Annapolis, Md., until January 6, 1862. Burnside's Expedition to Hatteras Inlet and Roanoke, Island, N. C., January 6-February 7, 1862. Battle of Roanoke Island February 8. Duty at Roanoke Island until March 11. Movement to New Berne, N. C., March 11-13. Battle of New Berne March 14. Expedition to Elizabeth City April 17-19. Duty at New Berne until July. Moved to Newport News, Va., July 6-9, thence to Fredericksburg August 2-4. March to relief of Pope, August 12-15. Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia August 16-September 2. Kelly's Ford August 21. Sulphur Springs August 23-24. Plains of Manassas August 27-29. Battles of Groveton August 29; Bull Run August 30; Chantilly September 1.

• September 3-20, 1862 - The Maryland Campaign
  • Battles of Frederick City September 12;
  • September 14, 1862 - Battle of South Mountain, Maryland
  • September 17, 1862 - Battle of Antietam, Maryland

At Pleasant Valley until October 27. March to Falmouth, Va., October 27-November 17. Jefferson November 11. Sulphur Springs November 13. Warrenton November 15. Battle of Fredericksburg December 12-15. "Mud March" January 20-24, 1863. Moved to Newport News, Va., February 19, thence to Covington and Paris, Ky., March 26-April 1. Moved to Mt. Sterling, Ky., April 3, to Lancaster May 6-7, and to Crab Orchard May 23. Movement to Vicksburg, Miss., June 3-17.

• May 18-July 4, 1863 - Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi

Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 5-10. Siege of Jackson July 10-17. Destruction of railroad at Madison Station July 19-22. At Milldale until August 6. Moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, August 6-20, thence to Nicholasville, Ky. Provost duty in District of Kentucky, Dept. of the Ohio, to February, 1864. Veterans on furlough March-April. Moved to Annapolis, Md., and rejoined corps.

• May 4-June 12, 1864 - The Overland Campaign
  • May 5-7, 1864 - Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia
  • May 8-21, 1864 - Battles of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia
    • May 10, 1864 - Combat at Ny River, Virginia
    • May 10, 1864 - Combat at Po River, Virginia
    • May 12, 1864 - Assault on the Salient at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia
  • May 22-26, 1864 - Operations on Line of the North Anna River, Virginia
  • May 26-28, 1864 - Operations on Line of the Pamunkey River, Virginia
  • May 28-31, 1864 - Operations on Line of the Totopotomoy River, Virginia
  • June 1-12, 1864 - Battles of Cold Harbor, Virginia
    • June 1-3, 1864 - Battle of Bethesda Church, Virginia

Before Petersburg June 16-18. Siege of Petersburg June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865. Mine Explosion, Petersburg, July 30, 1864. Weldon Railroad August 18-21. Poplar Grove Church, Peeble's Farm September 29-October 2. Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher's Run, October 27-28. Fort Stedman, Petersburg, March 25, 1865. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Assault on and fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee to Farmville April 3-9. Moved to Petersburg, thence to City Point and Washington, D.C., April 20-28.

• May 23, 1865 - Grand Review
• Duty at Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Va., until July.
• July 25, 1865 - Mustered out of federal service

Regimental Roster

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Regiment Statistical Information

Regiment Casualty Comparisons by Source

Source	Casualties	Remarks
Dyer	9 Officers and 193 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded 2 Officers and 174 enlisted men killed by disease Total 378	None
Fox	9 Officers and 193 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded Total 202 (Combat Losses) Fox lists this unit as: 42nd on the list of units "sustaining greatest loss in action" (Infantry units with over 200 casualties) 198th on the list of units with losses based on duration of the entire term of service of the unit (33rd of the New York troops)	This feature is not yet available. Check back soon for updates!
WotRWiki Statistics	0 troops killed Includes 0 troops mortally wounded Includes 0 troops killed by disease All others are troops killed in action or under special circumstances	This feature is not yet available. Check back soon for updates!

Legacy

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Sources

• Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. The Dyer Publishing Company (Des Moine, 1908). (Pages 760, 761, 779, 932, 933, 934, 936, 938, 940, 941, 1423-1424)
• Fox, William F. 1840-1909. Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865: A Treatise on the Extent and Nature of the Mortuary Losses in the Union Regiments, With Full and Exhaustive Statistics Compiled From the Official Records on File in the State Military Bureaus and at Washington. Albany: Albany Pub. Co., 1889. (Pages 3, 12)