155th Regiment, New York Infantry

Brief History
The 155th regiment was organized at New York City under Colonel William McEvily and Lieutenant Colonel James McMahon and was mustered in November 18, 1862, at Newport News, Virginia. It was also known as the Second, Formerly Fifth, Regiment, Corcoran's Brigade, or Irish Legion. Their duty was at Washington, D.C. until July, 1865. They were mustered out July 15, 1865 near Washington under Colonel Byrne and Major Page.

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


 * The Civil War Archive section, 155th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 17 August 2012).

The New York State Military Museumwebsite has a unit history project page for the 155th Infantry Regiment.

The Civil War in the Eastwebsite gives a timeline for the involvement of 155th 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.

Company A - principally recruited from New York City

Company B - principally recruited from New York City

Company C - principally recruited from New York City

Company D - principally recruited from Brooklyn, Kings County; Southold, Islip, Huntington, each in Suffolk County; Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County; and New York City

Company E - principally recruited from New York City; Oyster Bay and Hempstead in Nassau County; Islip and Southampton in Suffolk County; and Brooklyn, Kings County

Company F - principally recruited from New York City; and Binghamton, Broome County

Company G - principally recruited from New York City; and Brooklyn, Kings County

Company H - principally recruited from New York City

Company I - principally recruited from Buffalo, Erie County

Company K - principally recruited from Buffalo, Erie County; and New York City

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.


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


 * 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, FS Library book 973 M2ua


 * 155th New York Volunteer Infantry site has some helpful links (accessed 21 December 2010).


 * Buffalo and 155th New York Volunteer Infantry Regimentgives an excerpt of an historical article written in the Buffalo News, 2002 relating to the 155th NY Infantry Regiment.


 * Recalling the 155th New York Volunteer Infantrydescribes the regiment's involvement with Corcoran's all Irish Brigade, called "Corcoran's Irish Legion".