156th Regiment, New York Infantry

Brief History
The 156th regiment is organized at Kingston, Ulster County and mustered in November 17, 1862 under Colonel Erastus Cooke, Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Sharpe and Major Louis Schaffner. It was known as the "Mountain Legion". The unit was mustered out at Augusta, Georgia, October 23, 1865 under Colonel Sharpe, Lieutenant Colonel Neafie and Major Euen.

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


 * The Civil War Archive section, 156th Regiment Infantry "The Mountain Legion", (accesssed 17 August 2012).

The New York State Military Museumwebsite has a unit history project page for the 156th Infantry Regiment.

The Civil War in the Eastwebsite gives a timeline for the involvement of 156th 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 Plattekill, New Paltz, Gardiner and Shawangunk, all in Ulster County

Company B - principally recruited from Kingston, Woodstock, Lloyd, Olive and Marbletown, all in Ulster County

Company C - principally recruited from Cairo and Durham in Greene County; Kingston, Wawarsing, Esopus, Hurley, Saugerties, Rosendale, all in Ulster County

Company D - principally recruited from Wawarsing, Marbletown, Kingston and Shawangunk, all in Ulster County

Company E - principally recruited from Plattekill, Rosendale, Shawangunk, Gardiner and New Paltz, all in Ulster County

Company F - principally recruited from Kingston, Saugerties, Hurley, Rochester, Marbletown and Olive, all in Ulster County

Company G - principally recruited from Esopus, Marlborough and Kingston, all in Ulster County

Company H - principally recruited from Middletown and Southfields, Orange County; Newtown, Suffolk County; Rochester and Greenville of Ulster County; Castleton, Rensselaer County; New York City; Westfield, Chautauqua County; Northfield, Delaware County; Hillsdale, Columbia County; and Baltimore, Cortland County

Company I - principally recruited from Castleton, Rensselaer County; Northfield, Delaware County; Westfield, Chautauqua County; Hillsdale, Columbia County; Southfields, Orange County and Greenville, Ulster County

Company K - principally recruited from Castleton, Rensselaer County; Middletown, Orange County;  Newtown, Suffolk County; Northfield, Delaware County; and Hillsdale, Columbia 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.


 * Osborne, Seward R. . The saga of the Mountain Legion (156th N.Y. vols.) in the Civil War. Hightstown, N.J.: Longstreet House, 1994. Other libraries with this book,


 * 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