72nd New York Volunteer Infantry

Companies C and H

3rd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 3rd Corps

Army of the Potomac

A legendary American hero, many years following the American Civil War, once said " ... There are no great men. There are only great challenges which ordinary men are forced, by circumstances, to meet. "His name was Admiral William F. Halsey.

No truer words to apply to the 72nd New York Volunteer Infantry, and to the Excelsior Brigade. Great challenges where what these men faced during the Civil War ........ A group of ordinary individuals, family men, business and civic leaders, farmers ..... all fiercely loyal to the Union cause. Time after time, the Excelsiors performed brilliantly on the field of battle, consistently receiving the highest of praise from the commanders of the Division, Corps, and the Army. They were the epitome of precision, professionalism, and coolness on the field, as is borne out by their high losses in battle. Their commanding officers took great pride in executing the task at hand as assigned to them, no matter what their personal feeling, even if it meant heavy loss to the Regiment. They would not run from a fight, and stood their ground in support of their Division.

The Reenactors of the American Civil War currently reenacts one of the units of the legendary "Excelsior Brigade", the 72nd New York Volunteer Infantry, Company C. In fact, we are one of the few reenactment organizations nation-wide, which does so. We are very proud of our impression of this unit. The 72nd New York Volunteers saw action in almost all of the major engagements from Second Bull Run, to the Siege of Petersburg. They were respected and admired by their comrades for their bravery in battle, and feared by their enemies for the exact same reason.

We wish to dedicate this Web Site to the battle-hardened veterans of the 72nd New York Volunteer Infantry, and to Major General Dan Sickles and his Excelsior Brigade, and to the ones for whom they fought so valiantly .... their loved ones.

"In their loving memory ..... Lest we forget"

Reenacting the 72nd New York

The 72nd New York Volunteer Infantry is a member regiment of the Reenactors of the American Civil War (RACW). The RACW is a non-profit, living history organization dedicated to preserving this special time in the history of the United States. The RACW is composed of a Union Brigade, a Confederate Brigade and a Civilian Corps. The original 72^nd New York was an actual regiment of the Third Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac, between the years of 1861-1864. Today's 72^nd New York is dedicated to preserving and re-enacting the history of the original, from every detail of camp life down to our uniforms and accoutrements. At each event, we step back into time to become 'the Boys of '61'.

The 72nd New York is seeking new members who are interested in teaching living history and becoming a part of the one of America’s fastest growing hobbies.

Our ongoing research into the regiment

Our commitment to honoring the men of the 72nd New York is one that we take very seriously and to that end we are always seeking more and better information about these brave men. If you are seeking further information about the 72nd New York and the Excelsior Brigade or have information that you would be willing to share by way of documents or letters, please feel free to contact our company clerk, Rick Barram

Thank you.

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