Unit

Federal Regiment

5th Maryland Infantry

Organized: Baltimore, MD; mustered in 9/1861
Disbanded/Mustered out: Baltimore, MD 9/1865

Commanding Officers:
  Maj. Leopold Blumenberg
  Capt. Captain W. W. Bamberger
  Capt. Salome Marsh

Members of Interest:
  Capt. Ernest F.M. Faehtz (Co. L)

Statistics for Maryland Campaign
  Initial Strength: not known
  Killed in Action (KIA): 39
  Wounded (WIA): 109

Maps Showing this Unit:
   Detail Map #6: French's Division Hits the Sunken Road
   Detail Map #7: Richardson's Division Attacks the Sunken Road

Battlefield Tablets for this Unit:
   Tablet #35: Second Army Corps - 15 Sep, 7 AM to 15 Sep, 8 PM
   Tablet #115: Second Army Corps - 15 Sep, 9 AM to 17 Sep, 7 AM
   Tablet #40: French's Division, Second Army Corps - 17 Sep, 8 AM to 17 Sep, 2 PM
   Tablet #121: Army of the Potomac - 17 Sep, 8 AM to 17 Sep, 6 PM
   Tablet #116, cont: Second Army Corps - 17 Sep, 9 AM to 17 Sep, 12 PM
   Tablet #43: Weber's Brigade, French's Division - 17 Sep, 9 AM to 17 Sep, 12 PM

This Regiment's Chain of Command:
  Army - Army of the Potomac
  Corps - Second (II) Army Corps
  Division - 3rd Division, II Corps
  Brigade - 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, II Corps

History of the Unit:
The Fifth Maryland Infantry Regiment was organized at Baltimore City, Maryland, in September, 1861, to serve three years. On the expiration of its term of service, the original members (except veterans) were mustered out and the organization, composed of veterans and recruits, retained in service until September 1, 1865, when it was mustered out of service, in accordance with orders from the War Department.

Whilst the regiment was organized at Baltimore City, a number of the companies were recruited in other sections of the State. Company A was recruited at North East, Cecil County; Company E was recruited in Frederick County and Baltimore City; Com- pany I was recruited at Elkton, Cecil County; Companies B, C, D, F, G, H and K were recruited at Baltimore City.

The Fifth Regiment of Infantry occupied a camp at Lafayette Square, Baltimore City, from September, 1861, until March, 1862, where they were drilled, disciplined, and prepared for active service in the field.

On the 11th of March, 1862, the 5th Regiment left Baltimore for the seat of war in Virginia; on arrival at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, they were assigned to General Dix's command in the Army of the Potomac.

After the repulse of General McClellan's army on the peninsula of Virginia, and the transfer of the seat of war to Northern Virginia and Maryland, in August and September, 1862, the 5th Regiment marched with the army of the Potomac, and bore a conspicuous part in the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862.

In the Antietam Campaign:
Having been assigned to 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 3d Army Corps, at that portion of the battlefield of Antietam known as the "Bloody Lane," the 5th Regiment fought bravely and suffered severely in killed and wounded. The commanding officer for the time being, Major Leopold Blumenberg, was seriously wounded at the head of the regiment and carried to the rear, when Captain W. W. Bamberger, of Company B, assumed command of the regiment, who, in turn, was seriously wounded and taken to the rear, when the command of the regiment devolved on Capt. Salome Marsh, of Company F, who commanded the regiment during the remainder of the day. The 5th Regiment had thirty-nine men killed and one hundred and nine men wounded in the battle of Antietam.

Note: The Antietam Order of Battle found in the OR (and widely disseminated) indicates Capt Faehtz (Co. L) assumed command of the Regiment after Major Blumenberg was hit, but I believe the local source would likely be more accurate in this matter.

The remainder of the War:
The 5th Regiment of Infantry remained on the upper Potomac and in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia during the winter of 1862-63, and was assigned to General Milroy's Division, who were besieged at Winchester, Virginia, June 13 and 15, 1863, by the entire Confederate army of Northern Virginia. In the battles incident to the siege and the forcing of its way through the enemy's lines, the 5th Regiment, under the command of Maj. Salome Marsh, suffered terribly in killed, wounded and prisoners.

The regiment rejoined the army of the Potomac in 1864, and participated in the siege of Petersburg, June to September, 1864, and was with that part of the Army of the Poto- mac known as 3d Brigade, 2d Division, 18th Army Corps, and the 2d Brigade, 3d Division, 24th Army Corps, that occupied Richmond, Va. (the Confederate capital), April 3, 1865.

The 5th Regiment of Infantry was mustered out of the military service of the United States at Fredericksburg, Va., September 1, 1865, and transported thence to Baltimore, Md., where the regiment disbanded.

References, Sources, and other Notes:
much text above from the Maryland State Archives Volume 367, Page 179-180

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