21st Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry.

Brief History
The 21st Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry was organized at Worcester July 19 to August 19, 1861. They moved to Baltimore, Md., August 23-25; thence to Annapolis, Md., August 29; and duty there till January 6, 1862. They were attached to Reno's 2nd Brigade, Burnside's Expeditionary Corps, to April, 1862. -2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Dept. of North Carolina, to July, 1862. -2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to April, 1863. -2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps, Dept. of the Ohio, to June, 1863. -Unassigned, 1st Division, 23rd Army Corps, Dept. of the Ohio, to October, 1863. -1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps, Dept. of the Ohio, to April, 1864.2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 9th -Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to June, 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 9th Army Corps, to September, 1864. -2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 9th Army Corps, to October, 1864. -Non-Veterans left front August 18 and mustered out August 30, 1864. -Veterans and Recruits transferred to 36th Massachusetts Infantry October 21, 1864.

For more information see the following:


 * The Wikipedia article, 21st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry(accessed 29 September 2011)


 * The Civil War Archive section,21st Regiment Infantry, (accessed 11 July 2012).

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.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 1,860 men on its roster for this unit. Roster

Regimental History and Roster

 * History of the Twenty-first Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, in the war for the preservation of the Union, 1861-1865 . By Charles Folsom Walcott. Boston : Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1882. Online at: Internet Archive

Other Sources

 * 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 ‘Massachusetts 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.


 * Massachusetts in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Massachusetts, 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.


 * Walcott, Charles F. (Charles Folsom). History of the Twenty-First Regiment, Massachusetts volunteers, in the war for the preservation of the union, 1861-1865 : with statistics of the war and of rebel prisons. (Boston, Massachusetts : Houghton Mifflin, 1882),.


 * Images for the 21st Massachusetts Infantry, (accessed 18 April 2013).


 * Monument to the21st Massachusetts Infantry, (accessed 18 April 2013).


 * Civil War in the East, 21st Massachusetts Infantry, (accessed 18 April 2013).