The 124th New York State Volunteers

Our history

The reactivated 124th NY is committed to preserving the history of the original 124th NYSV.  Below is a compilation of both primary source documentation, state and national records, and work done by 124th NY members.  All of the documents below are fully downloadable and text searchable.  Many have been edited to show only information pertaining to the 124th directly.  It is meant to be a comprehensive list. If, however, you know of a resource that is not listed below, please send an email to us with the name of the resource and where it is located. This can include photographs, letters, articles and other non-book materials.

This online project is part of a preservation effort in cooperation with the Officer of the Orange County Historian to archive all known information on the 124th NY.  The archive will eventually be fully available to the public.  The archive aims to collect information either in its original or in transcript form.  This may include, but is not restricted to, letters, journals/diaries, photographs, biographies, family histories, newspaper clippings, artifacts, and books.  If you have any materials in your possession that you would like to donate, the 124th is always looking for items specific to the old regiment.  Please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you.

The Flag of the 124th Orange Blossoms

 

The 124th New York Regiment of Volunteers, 1862-1865

  1. Officers of the Regiment, 1861-1865
  2. Battle and Casualty Reports – A full list of Battle Reports from the 124th and Newspaper Clippings with Casualty Reports and Statistics
    • List of Battles Participated in and Officers of the Regiment from Phisterer’s New York in the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865, Vol. 4.
  3. Regimental History of the 124th New York State Volunteers.
  4. Adjutant General’s Reports for the State of New York:
    • 1862 – Official muster-in date, Company muster-in dates, Orange County quotas for troops, Ordnance items issued.
    • 1863 – Regimental strength, Company strengths, Orange County quotas for troops, List of officer commissions.
    • 1903 – Full alphabetical roster of the regiment with service notes for each soldier.
  5. 124th NY At Gettysburg
  6. Pictures of the Original Members

The 124th NY in the Postwar Years and Orange County History:

  1. History of Orange County, NY (1881)
  2. Post-war Veterans Photos

Further Reading:

  • Beakes Family. Wilken-Beakes family papers,1850-1916. – These papers consist chiefly of letters and photographs of the Wilken and Beakes families of Middletown, New York. Most of the letters concern personal and family matters. One letter of special interest was written by Adam Wikken Beakes in regards to his experiences of military service during the Civil War. He was enrolled in Company E of the 124th New York Regiment of Infantry. [Located at the New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections.]
  • Bowery, Charles R. “Encounter at the Triangular Field: The 124th New York and the 1st Texas at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.” Gettysburg: Historical Articles of Lasting Interest. 30 (January 2004) 49-62.
  • Braun, Robert A.  “The Fight for Devil’s Den.” Military Images. 5:1 (July-August 1983) 5-12.
  • Bush, Ira F. Leigh Coll Bk 5: 25  (Enlisted man’s letter, Nov 11, 1863). [Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.]
  • Clock, Edward. The life and time of Francis Markoe Cummins. Clinton, Mo.:E. Clock,1985. [Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.]
  • Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Volume 2. (Dayton, Ohio: Morningside, 1979). – Page 1453 contains a concise summary of the regiment’s service.
  • Ellis, A. Van Horn. (Notes on his live, incl R.A. Braun’s “Fight for Devil’s Den”). [Located at the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.]
  • Gage, Ethel B.  Orange County in the Civil War. Goshen, N.Y.:Orange County Community of Museums and Galleries, 1963. 2 pts. (p. 3-7; 4-8) 28 cm.  [Located at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.]
  • Georg, Kathleen R. “‘Our Principal Loss Was In This Place‘ : Action at the Slaughter Pen and the South End of Houck’s Ridge.” The Morningside Notes. 1984. 1-9.
  • Kowalis, Jeffrey J. Died at Gettysburg! : “No Prouder Epitaph Need Any Man Covet”: Illustrated Biographies of the Union Casualties at Gettysburg. (Hightstown, NJ: Longstreet House, 1998).
  • LaRocca, Charles J. “‘Forward My Tulips!’: The Daredevil Orange Blossoms at Chancellorsville.” Civil War, 48 (Dec 1994): pages 40-43 & 52-57.
  • LaRocca, Charles J. “‘There Was No Such Thing as Fail'” The ‘Orange Blossoms’ at Spotsylvania.” Civil War, XII: pages 36-39, 42-43 & 46.
  • LaRocca, Charles J. The 124th New York State Volunteers in the Civil War, A History and Roster. (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2012), 391 p.
  • LaRocca, Charles J. This regiment of heroes : a compilation of primary materials pertaining to the 124th New York State Volunteers in the American Civil War. Montgomery, N.Y. C.J. LaRocca, [14], 255 p.
  • LaRocca, Charles J. and Higgins, Katherine. “The 124th New York Volunteers, the Regiment of Heroes,’ Carved an Enviable Reputation in the East.” America’s Civil War, 1 (Jul 1988): pp. 10 & 56-57.
  • Lash, Garry. “The March of the 124th New York to Gettysburg.” Gettysburg: Historical Articles of Lasting Interest. 9 (July 1993) 5-16.
  • Murray, Henry Spencer.  Letter, 1863 December 15. – Letter written at Camp Parole, Maryland to his friend Will, Murray subtley condems slavery an favors emancipation in recounting an event,”we have big times at dinner discussing the Amnesty & Emancipation Proclamation.” [Located at the New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections.]
  • Murray, Henry Spencer. Letters,1862-1864. – Civil War letters of Captian Murray, 124th New York Infantry, describing his arrival in Washington, D.C.; camp life in the Washington area; and his attempts to secure a promotion to the rank of major. [Located at Duke University.]
  • Nearpass, W. H.  (William Henry). Letters 1861-1865. – Consists of letters received by William Henry Nearpass of Port Jervis, New York from 1861 to 1865. Includes correspondence from soldiers serving in the 124th New York Volunteer Infantry and other military units serving in Virginia during the American Civil War. [Amc archives. Located at Auburn University Special Collections and Archives.]
  • New York State. Adjutant-General’s Office. Annual Report of the Adjutant-General’s Office for the Year 1903. No. 36. (Albany, NY: Oliver Quayle, 1904). pp. 500-666. – This book contains an alphabetical roster of the regiment, the roster is available above.
  • New York State. Monuments Commission for the Battlefields of Gettysburg and Chattanooga. Final Report on the Battlefield of Gettysburg. Vol. 2. (Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon, 1900). pp. 862-878.  – Contains a photo of the regimental monuments at the Gettysburg National Military Park and addresses delivered at their dedication.
  • Osborne, Seward R. “They Wore an Orange Ribbon.” Military Collector & Historian, 38 :1 (Spring 1986) 40-41.
  • Plank, Will. Banners and bugles; a record of Ulster County, New York and the mid-Hudson region in the Civil War. Marlborough, N.Y. Centennial Press, 1972.
  • Phisterer, Frederick, compiler. New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. Third Edition. Volume 4. (Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Company, State Printer, 1912), pp. 3464-3477 – Contains a brief history of the regiment and a roster of officers. All of the material appearing in this book is available in the above links.
  • Price, John H. and Price, William George. Price family papers,1854-1905. – Correspondence, diary, genealogical material, military records, photographs, and other papers of Price family members. Papers of John H. Price include the Civil War diary which he kept while serving with the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment and a regimental order-book. The order-book also contains financial records, poetry, and recipes of William George Price, Jr. Papers of William George Price, Sr., include letters which he wrote to family members during his service in the 124th New York Infantry Regiment, his military commission, and discharge record.  [Located at the New York State Library.]
  • “The Orange Blossom Regiment at Chancellorsville: An Account of Their Alleged Role in the Demise of ‘Mighty Stonewall.'” Blue & Gray Magazine l (Jul l984): pp. 25-27.
  • Tucker, A. W . ‘”Orange blossoms” Services of the 124th New York at Gettysburg.’ National Tribune, (January 21, 1886).
  • United States.; Army.; New York Infantry Regiment, 124th (1862-1865). Roster of survivors of the 124th regt. N.Y. vol. infantry. August, 1891. 21 p. [Located at the New York Historical Society, New York, NY.]
  • United States.; Army.; New York Infantry Regiment, 124th (1862-1865). Roster of survivors of the 124th Regt. N.Y. Vol. Infantry. New York? : S.n. 1800s-1900s.
  • Vanamee, William.  Address in behalf of the Daughters of Orange in presenting a new stand of colors to the Regiment :thirty-first annual reunion of the 124th Regiment, N.Y.S.V., held at Highland Falls, near West Point, August 19th, 1896. (New York : Livingston Middleditch Co., 1896.) 11 p.