Glory Was Not Their Companion

Recruited primarily from the gentle farmlands of central New York, the men of the Twenty-Sixth New York Volunteer Infantry were among the first to answer their nation’s call during the Civil War. Death soon wrapped its cold arms around the regiment, whose losses were great. More often than not the Twenty-Sixth was placed in difficult or impossible tactical situations, which resulted in their being forced to leave the field in disorder. They did their best.
This work covers the regiment’s entire two-year term of enlistment from May 1861 to May 1863. It draws upon numerous unpublished letters and diaries from the collections of individuals, private libraries and public institutions, as well as contemporary newspapers and obscure government documents. Appendices cover the order of command within campaigns and post assignments. Also included is a regimental roster listing the 1,182 men who served in the Twenty-Sixth.

Paul Taylor is an award-winning author of six books on the Civil War era, including “Old Slow Town”: Detroit during the Civil War. He lives in Clinton Township, Michigan.

Paul Taylor
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 231
Bibliographic Info: 54 photos, maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010 [2005]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4924-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1142-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface      1

1. From the Pastoral Fields of Oneida County      3

2. A Long, Hot Washington Summer      14

3. On to Fort Lyon      33

4. Marching Orders!      43

5. A First Taste of Death      58

6. Maryland, My Maryland      73

7. The Fredericksburg Campaign      90

8. Into the Mud: January 1863      104

9. A Less-Than-Glorious Finale: Chancellorsville and Home      112

10. 1863–1865 and the Postwar Years      125

11. Author’s Afterword      130

Appendix A: Command Within Campaigns and Post Assignments      133

Appendix B: Regimental Roster      135

Chapter Notes      207

Bibliography      215

Index      221

“commendable…excellent…valuable”—The Civil War News; “book is of the highest production quality”—The Civil War Courier; “fine job of historical detective work in finding and using the scant documentation and records left by this unit and its soldiers…this fine book will appeal to Civil War enthusiasts and military genealogists”—Military Heritage Magazine; “The manuscript is not only well researched but also extremely well written. The narrative has a crispness and clarity often missing in similar endeavors that I have reviewed.”—Ted Alexander, Senior Staff Historian, Antietam National Battlefield Park.