During the American Civil War, the 1st Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry consisted of enlistees from several states, with a majority of the men coming from Ohio. The regiment was organized at Camp Clay in Pendleton, Ohio and formerly mustered into the United States military on June 4, 1861.
During the American Civil War, the 1st Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry consisted of enlistees from several states, with a majority of the men coming from Ohio. The regiment was organized at Camp Clay in Pendleton, Ohio and formerly mustered into the United States military on June 4, 1861. The regiment’s members were to serve for three years.
During 1861, the regiment primarily served in western Virginia (modern-day West Virginia). The 1st Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry fought engagements at Red House on July 12, 1861, Boone Court House on September 1, 1861, Chapmansville on September 25, 1861, and Gauley Bridge on November 10, 1861. All of these battles took place in western Virginia.
In January 1862, the 1st Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry transferred to the Department of the Cumberland. The regiment participated in the advance upon Nashville, Tennessee. Upon being transferred, military officials detached Company E, making it Simmond’s Independent Battery, Kentucky Light Artillery. Eventually this battery became the Twenty-third Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery. On April 6 and 7, 1862, the 1st Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry participated in the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee. On October 3 and 4, the regiment fought in the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. The organization also participated in the Battle of Stone River in Tennessee on December 31, 1862.
During 1863, the 1st Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry patrolled Tennessee and eventually advanced into Georgia, fighting in the Battle of Graysville, Georgia on September 10, and the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia on September 19 and 20. In 1864, the regiment spent the first one-half of the year in Tennessee and Kentucky, before its three years of service expired. The 1st Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry mustered out of duty on June 18, 1864.
During the course of the American Civil War, the 1st Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry had ninety-seven men die. Forty-two soldiers died in battle, fifteen succumbed to wounds received in battle, and forty men perished from disease.
