38th New York Infantry Regiment

The 38th New York Infantry Regiment was a two-year infantry regiment in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War.

Service
The 38th New York Infantry was organized at New York city by Colonel J. H. Hobart Ward who was appointed by the State of New York May 25, 1861. It mustered in the United States service at East New York for two years, June 3 and 8 (Company I), 1861. The 18th Militia furnished men for one company. In September, 1861, ninety-seven men of the 4th Me. Volunteers were assigned to the regiment. December 21, 1862, the regiment was consolidated into six companies, A, B, C, D, E and F, and the same day the 55th New York Infantry Regiment, consolidated into four companies, joined by transfer, forming new Companies G, H, I and K of the regiment. June 3, 1863, the three years' men of the regiment, all in the four companies G, H, I and K, were transferred to the 40th New York Infantry Regiment, and became Companies A, E and H of the latter.

The original companies were recruited principally:
 * A, B, C, D and F — New York city
 * E — Westchester county
 * G — Westchester and Dutchess counties
 * H — Geneva and in the county of Ontario
 * I — Horseheads
 * K — Elizabethtown

The regiment left the State June 19, 1861 and returned to New York city to muster out on June 22, 1863.

Organizational affiliation
Attached to:


 * Col. Willcox's Brigade, Brig.Gen. Heintzelman's Division, Brig.Gen. McDowell's Army of Northeast Virginia, to August, 1861.
 * Col. Howard's Brigade, Division of the Potomac, to October, 1861.
 * Brig.Gen. Sedgwick's Brigade, Brig.Gen. Heintzelman's Division, Army of the Potomac (AoP), to March, 1862.
 * 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, III Corps, AoP, to July, 1862.
 * 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps, to June, 1863.

List of battles
The official list of battles in which the regiment bore a part:


 * First Battle of Bull Run
 * Siege of Yorktown
 * Battle of Williamsburg
 * Battle of Fair Oaks
 * Seven Days Battles
 * Battle of Savage's Station
 * Battle of Glendale
 * Battle of Malvern Hill
 * Battle of South Mountain
 * Second Battle of Bull Run
 * Battle of Chantilly
 * Battle of Fredericksburg
 * Battle of Chancellorsville

1861

 * Left New York for Washington, D.C., September 20, 1861.
 * Duty in the Defences of Washington, DC till July 16.
 * Advance on Manassas, Va., July 16–21.
 * First Battle of Bull Run, Va., July 21.
 * Duty in the Defences of Washington, D. C, till March, 1862.

1862

 * Advance on Manassas, Va., March 10–15, 1862.
 * Ordered to the Peninsula March 17.
 * Peninsula Campaign April to August.
 * Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4.
 * Battle of Williamsburg May 5.
 * Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks May 31-June 1.
 * Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1.
 * Battles of Oak Grove near Seven Pines June 25.
 * White Oak Swamp and Glendale June 30.
 * Malvern Hill July 1.
 * At Harrison's Landing till August 16.
 * Movement to Fortress Monroe, thence to Centreville August 16–26.
 * Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia August 27-September 2.
 * Battles of Groveton August 29;
 * Second Battle of Bull Run August 30;
 * Chantilly September 1.
 * Duty in the Defences of Washington, D. C, till October.
 * Movement to Falmouth, Va., October and November.
 * Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12–15
 * Duty at Falmouth, Va., until April 1863.

1863

 * "Mud March" January 20–24, 1863.
 * At Falmouth till April.
 * Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6.
 * Battle of Chancellorsville May 1–5.
 * Three years men transferred to 40th Regiment New York Infantry June 3
 * Mustered out June 22, 1863, expiration of term.

Casualties
Regiment lost during service 3 Officers and 72 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 Officers and 39 Enlisted men by disease. Total 117. The regiment's bloodiest battles were First Bull Run, Williamsburg, Seven Days, and Fredericksburg.

Armament
Soldiers in the 38th were initially armed with Model 1841 Mississippi rifles. These rifles had been manufactured by the Harper's Ferry Arsenal and by contract in 1844 in Windsor, Vermont by the Robbins and Lawrence Armory (R&L) which had also made the 1855 modifications of increasing the bore to .58 and fitting them with a sword bayonet. On July 7, 1861, companies A through F exchanged these rifles for rifle-muskets at the Washington DC arsenal. By the end of the first full year of hard campaigning, the regiment reported the following survey result to U.S. War Department:

Fredericksburg
 * A — 41 Springfield Rifled Muskets, model 1855, 1861 National Armory (NA) and contract (.58 Cal.)
 * B — 35 Austrian Rifled Muskets, leaf and block sights, Quadrangular bayonet (.577 Cal)
 * C — 7 Springfield Rifled Muskets, model 1855, 1861, NA and contract, (.58 Cal.); 36 Austrian Rifled Muskets, leaf and block sights, quadrangular bayonet (.54 and.55 Cal)
 * D — 44 Austrian Rifled Muskets, leaf and block sights, quadrangular bayonet (.54 and.55 Cal)
 * E — 36 Austrian Rifled Muskets, leaf and block sights, quadrangular bayonet (.577 Cal)
 * F — 1 Springfield Rifled Muskets, model 1855, 1861, N.A. and contract. Calibre .58; 29 Austrian Rifled Muskets, leaf and block sights, quadrangular bayonet (.577 Cal)
 * G — unreported, probably Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * H — unreported, probably Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * I — unreported, probably Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * K — unreported, probably Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet

Chancellorsville
 * A — 47 Springfield Rifled Muskets, model 1855, 1861, NA and contract, (.58 Cal.)
 * B — 60 Light French Liege M1853 rifle, sabre bayonet (.577 Cal.)
 * C — 50 Light French Liege M1853 rifles, sabre bayonet (.577 Cal.)
 * D — 59 Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * E — 52 Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * F — 46 Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * G — unreported, probably Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * H — unreported, probably Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * I — 41 Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet
 * K — unreported, probably Model 1841 rifles, NA and contract, (.54 and .58 Cal.), leaf and block sights, sabre bayonet

Uniform
The men of the regiment were initially issued the standard blue sack coats, sky blue infantry trousers, and the sky blue infantry winter overcoat.

Commanders

 * Col. J. H. Hobart Ward - June 8, 1861 to October 10, 1862
 * Col. James Clark Strong - October 10, 1862 to December 23, 1862
 * Col. Philipe Régis de Trobriand - December 23, 1862 to June 22, 1863