A Regiment a Month, part 2: more Union troops

At the debut of may, 7 brave wargamers took upon them the gauntlet of trying to commit and paint a regiment each month.
The first month saw four regiments (a pulp warband, a Nurgle unit, a Confederate cavalry regiment and a Union infantry regiment) and a scenery piece for 28mm pulp gaming as a result.

Now, month two closes and what will be the yield of this round...

28th Massachusetts (4th Irish Brigade)



My entry for the second month is another regiment of Union troops for use in the ACW. Continuing to build upon my `Irish force`, the 28th Massachusetts is also known as the `4th Irish Brigade`, carrying the green of Erin into battle.

The regiment is 20 bodies strong, an average size for most game systems, and are all metal greatcoat models from Wargames Foundry. Banners are from Flags of War.

The 28th Massachusetts Infantry regiment was the second primarily Irish American volunteer infantry regiment recruited in Massachusetts for service in the American Civil War. The regiment's motto (or cry) was Faugh a Ballagh (Clear the Way!)

The 28th was raised in Boston and received its initial training at Camp Cameron in Cambridge and Somerville. The unit underwent additional training at Fort Columbus in New York harbor before being dispatched in early 1862 for its first active duty assignment.

After serving briefly under Gen. Benjamin Butler in the Carolinas and with the 9th Corps during the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first campaign into the North, the 28th Massachusetts was assigned to the II Corps as the fourth regiment of the famed Irish Brigade (US), commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher.
Col. Richard Byrnes

Known for their distinctive Tiffany-embroidered green flag and Gaelic war cry, "Faugh a Ballagh" (Clear the Way), the Irishmen of the 28th Massachusetts saw action in most of the Union Army's major eastern theatre engagements – Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and the siege of Petersburg – and were present for Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.

Upon completion of their original three-year term of service, many of the 28th's veteran soldiers elected to return to Massachusetts. But a sufficient number re-enlisted by January 1, 1864, to justify the continuation of the regiment as a five-company battalion of "veteran volunteers" until the end of the war.

For most of its service, the 28th Massachusetts was commanded by Col. Richard Byrnes, who had previously served in the cavalry. Wounded on June 3, 1864, while leading the Irish Brigade at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Byrnes died nine days later.

Stage actor Lawrence Barrett served as captain of the regiment's Company B, but served for less than a year, resigning in August 1862.



Among all Union regiments, the 28th Massachusetts ranked seventh in total losses. Roughly one-quarter of the 1,746 men who served in the unit were killed, died of wounds or disease, taken prisoner, or reported missing.

The surviving veterans of the regiment marched in Washington, D.C., during the Grand Review that celebrated the war's conclusion, then traveled home to Massachusetts, where they were paid and discharged from the service at Readville in June 1865.



My next unit for the ACW is normally my plastic Perry zouaves, numbering 40 troopers BUT... it won`t be for the ARAM entry of July. This is due to July being by far the busiest month in the year at work, and even now I don`t even feel my feet anymore, so painttime will be very limited.
No worries though, I already have my next entry planned out, it`ll be a regiment, or rather a band, of individualistic dressed warriors. That way, I can get about a model done every 2 evenings, which should be a managable tally for the comming month. Just a hint, X marks the spot arrrrr.