131st Regiment, New York Infantry

Brief History
The 131st regiment was organized at New York City and mustered in September 6, 1862. It was also known as First Regiment, Metropolitan Guard. They were mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, July 26, 1865.

For more information on the history of this unit, see:


 * The Civil War Archive section, 131st Regiment Infantry "1st Regiment Metropolitan Guard", (accessed 16 August 2012).

The New York State Military Museumwebsite has a unit history project page for the 131st Infantry Regiment.

The Civil War in the Eastwebsite gives a timeline for the involvement of 131st New York Infantry Regiment in the war.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles,companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

See the Regiment Roster, for listing of individuals, their company and their involvement.

The companies were recruited under the auspices of the metropolitan police, in New York City; but a portion of Company K came from Smithtown, Suffolk County.

Source Material

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘New York in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * New York in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for New York, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * Frederick Henry Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, (Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Publishing Co., 1908), as cited at Civil War Soldiers; Sailors System(database on-line)


 * Phisterer, Frederick.New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1865, Albany : J.B. Lyon, 1912. Google Books, other libraries with this book, FHL book 974.7 M2p, FHL film 1486494-1486496


 * Stearns, Albert. Reminiscenes of the late war. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1992)


 * The Union Army : a History of Military Affairs in the Loyal States, 1861-65, Records of the Regiments in the Union Army, Cyclopedia of Battles, Memoirs of Commanders and Soldiers, Reprint of original published: Madison, WI.: Federal Pub. Co., 1908. Other libraries with this book, FHL book 973 M2ua


 * See the webpage dedicated to the 131st New York Volunteer Infantry. It contains links to good materials.