Civil War Illustrations

Holiday Festivities of the 44th New York Volunteers

Caption: The Bright Side of War - Holiday Festivities of the 44th New York Volunteers, at Their Camp, Hall's Hill, Virginia - from a sketch by our special artist taken on the spot. - See page 184.

Source: Illustration from Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, January 11, 1862, front page.

The 44th New York Infantry Regiment was organized at Albany, NY under the auspices of the Ellsworth Association of the State of New York. The regiment arrived in Washington, D.C. in October 1861 and was assigned to the third brigade, first division. They established camp at Hall's Hill in Virginia, where they spent the winter.

The regiment was also known as the Ellsworth Avengers or the People's Ellsworth Regiment because it was formed in response to the death of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, a native of upstate New York and the first Union officer to die in the Civil War.

For more information on this regiment, see 44th Infantry Regiment - Civil War (NYS Military Museum).