158th Regiment, New York Infantry

Brief History
The 158th was organized at Brooklyn, Kings County and mustered in November 10, 1862, at Norfolk,Virginia under Colonel James Jourdan, Lieutenant Colonel William McNary and Major William H. Burnett. They were known as the "1st Regiment, Empire Brigade". They were mustered out at Richmond, Virginia, June 30, 1865 under Colonel William McNary, Lieutenant Colonel Hyron Kalt and Major William Furey. The Veterans and Recruits were transferred to the 100th New York Infantry.

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


 * The Civil War Archive section, 158th Regiment Infantry "1st Empire Brigade" (accessed 17 August 2012).

The New York State Military Museumwebsite has a unit history project page for the 158th Infantry Regiment.

The Civil War in the Eastwebsite gives a timeline for the involvement of 158th New York Infantry Regiment in the war.

The 158th Regiment, New York Infantry article on Wikipedia gives a brief history of the unit, including places served, battles fought, and commanders.

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 Brooklyn, Kings County

Company B - principally recruited from Brooklyn, Kings County

Company C - principally recruited from Brooklyn,Kings County; Jamaica, Queens County; and New York City

Company D - principally recruited from Brooklyn,Kings County

Company E - principally recruited from Brooklyn, Kings County

Company F - principally recruited from Brooklyn, Kings County

Company G - principally recruited from Brooklyn, Kings County

Company H - principally recruited from Brooklyn, Kings County

Company I - principally recruited from Brooklyn, Kings County

Company K - principally recruited from Brooklyn, Kings 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.


 * 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,


 * 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,