42nd History, Adjutant
History of the 42nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
1861-1865
Source: Terrell, W. H. H., Report of the
Adjutant General of the State of Indiana, Volume II,
Indianapolis, IN 1865.
The Forty-Second Regiment was organized at
Evansville on the 9th of October, 1861, with James G. Jones as
Colonel. Soon after it marched to Henderson and thence to Calhoun
and Owensboro, Kentucky, from which place it went to Nashville,
Tennessee, where it arrived on the 25th of February. It then
moved into the interior of the State and then to Huntsville,
Alabama, and from thence retraced its steps to Nashville. Moving
from there with Rousseau's division of Buell's army to Louisville,
it took part in the pursuit of Bragg through Kentucky,
participating in the battle of Perryville on the 8th of October,
losing one hundred and sixty-six in killed, wounded and missing.
Returning to Nashville, the regiment marched with Rosecran's army
toward Murfreesboro, and then took part in the battle of Stone
River on the 31st of December, 1862, and 1st and 2d of January,
1863, losing seventeen killed and eighty-seven wounded. After
this engagement the Forty-Second went into camp near Murfreesboro,
where it remained until the 24th of June, and then marched with
the first brigade of Gen'l Negley's division to Chattanooga. On
the 19th and 20th of September, the regiment was engaged in the
battle of Chicamauga, losing eight killed, fifty-three wounded,
and thirty-two missing, making the total of ninety-three.
Subsequently, it participated in the storming of Lookout Mountain
and the battle of Mission Ridge, in November, losing forty-three
in killed and wounded.
On the 1st of January, 1864, the regiment re-enlisted as a
Veteran organization at Chattanooga, and soon after returned to
Indiana, on veteran furlough, reaching Indianapolis on the 28th
of January, where it was publicly received and addressed by
Governor Morton and others. On its return to the field in March,
it joined Sherman's army near Chattanooga, and on the 7th of May,
it marched from Ringold on the campaign against Atlanta,
participating in all the principle battles of that campaign,
losing one hundred and three, officers and men killed and wounded.
During this campaign, while in Six Mile Range near Alatoona, the
regiment was on picket duty seven days and nights within fifty
yards of the rebel skirmish line, without being relieved. After
the capture of Atlanta, the Forty-Second marched to Kingston,
Rome, Resacca, and through Snake Creek Gap, to the Chatuga Valley,
and from thence to Gaylesville, Alabama, in pursuit of Hood's
army, and then back again to Rome and Atlanta.
In November, it moved with Sherman's army from Atlanta to
Savannah, participating in the skirmishing on the route and the
siege of Savannah. From Savannah, it moved through the Carolinas
to Goldsboro, North Carolina, taking part in the battles of
Averysboro, and Bentonville, losing ten men and officers killed
and wounded. After the close of active operations, the regiment
marched to Washington via Richmond, leaving Goldsboro on the 10th
of April, 1865. From Washington, it proceeded to Louisville,
Kentucky, where on the 21st of July, 1865, it was mustered out,
and left for Indianapolis, reaching that place on the following
day. On the 25th of July, it was present at a public reception
given to several regiment of returned soldiers, in the Capitol
grounds, on which occasion Major Gen'l Sherman was present.
Addresses were made by Governor Morton and Gen'l Sherman. In a
few days after, the regiment was finally discharged from service.
During its term of service, the Forty-Second lost in killed,
wounded, and missing six hundred and twenty-nine, of which number
eighty-six were killed on the field, four hundred and forty-three
were wounded and one hundred taken prisoner. Its strength at the
time of its muster-out was eight hundred and forty-six, officers
and men.
The regiment has participated in battles and skirmishes as
follows: Wartrace, Perryville, Stone River, Elk River, Chicamauga,
Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringold, Rocky Face Ridge,
Resacca, Alatonna Mountains, Kenesaw, Chattahoochie River, Peach
Tree Creek, Atlanta, Janesboro, Savannah, Charleston, Black River,
and Bentonville.
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