129th Regiment, New York Infantry

Brief History
The 129th regiment was organized in August,1862, at Lockport, Niagra County, and mustered in under Colonel Peter A. Porter on August 22, 1862. It was converted into a regiment of artillery,and, December 19,1862 was designated the 8th Regiment New York Volunteer Artillery.

The New York State Military Museumwebsite has a unit history project page for the 129th Infantry Regiment. It also has an historical page for the 8th Artillery Regiment, that was known as the Albany County Regiment or Seymour Guard.

The Civil War in the Eastwebsite gives a timeline for the involvement of 129th 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 of the 8th Artillery Regiment for listing of individuals, their company and their involvement.

See the Rootsweb pagefor another listing of regiment members. Three companies were recruited in the county of Genesee, three in the county of Orleans, and four in Niagara county;

Company L was primarily recruited from Bennington, Wyoming County; Lewiston, Niagra County; Pavilion, Alabama, Bergen, Stafford, Batavia, Darien,Oakfield, Bethany, Pembroke and LeRoy of Genesee County; Alexandria, Jefferson County; Rochester, Monroe County; Middleburg, Schoharie County

Company M was primarily recruited from Warsaw, Wethersfield, Java and Sheldon, each of Wyoming County; China, Delaware County;  Rochester, Monroe County; Lima and Avon of Livingston County;  Lockport, Niagara 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, N.Y. : 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


 * Hudnut, James M. . Historical roll of Company D, 8th Regiment, New-York Heavy Artillery : originally 129th N.Y. Infantry,  Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, 1992 (originally published: Rev. ed. New York : De Vinne Press, 1877.). Internet Archives, FS Library fiche 6083591


 * See the website dedicated to the 8th New York Heavy Artillery at Cold Harbor