164th Regiment, New York Infantry

Brief History
The 164th regiment was organized at New York City September and October, 1862. This regiment was associated with the following: Corcoran Guard; Corcoran Zouaves; Seventh Regiment, Irish Legion; Third Regiment, Corcoran's Irish Brigade; Buffalo Irish Regiment. It was reorganized at Newport News, Virginia, and mustered in under Colonel John McMahon, Lieutenant Colonel Burke and Major Michael Smith. The regiment served its duty at Washington, D.C. in 1865 where it served until July 15th. The regiment was mustered out July 15, 1865 under Colonel DeLacy and Major Beattie.

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

The Civil War Archive section, 164th Regiment Infantry "Corcoran Guard", (accessed 22 August 2012).

The New York State Military Museumwebsite has a unit history project page for the 164th Infantry Regiment.

The Civil War in the Eastwebsite gives a timeline for the involvement of 164th 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 Oswegatchie, Potsdam, Canton, and Pierrepont, all in St. Lawrence County; Malone, Franklin County

Company B - principally recruited from Newfane and Lockport in Niagara County; Rochester, Monroe County; Ridgeway, Orleans County; and Buffalo, Erie County

Company C - principally recruited from Buffalo, Erie County

Company D - principally recruited from Buffalo, Erie County

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

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

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

Company H - principally recruited from New York City, Brooklyn, Kings County; New Hartford and Utica, Oneida County; Newport, Orange County

Company I - principally recruited from New York City, Brooklyn, Kings County and Greenburg, Westchester County Company K - principally recruited from New York City and Brooklyn, Kings County

Regimental History and Roster

 * Alphabetical card-index of the rolls of the 164th New York Infantry, by Coulter Richard, Publisher Washington, Govt. Print Off., 1889,Online at:Internet Archive

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,

United States. Adjutant General's Office and Richard C. Drum. Alphabetical card-index of the rolls of the 164th New York Infantry. Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America,1992 (original published: Washington : G. P. O., 1889). Internet Archive,