Seventh New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry

The Seventh New Hampshire was the sister regiment of the Seventh Connecticut, and the two units were sometimes jointly referred to as the "Seventy-seventh New England". Like their Connecticut counterparts, the Granite Staters had served exclusively along the lower Atlantic coast during their enlistment. After duty in the Dry Tortugas, St. Augustine, and Fernandina, they moved to South Carolina and were engaged at Morris Island, Battery Wagner, and Fort Sumter.

At Battery Wagner, the 7th was part of the infantry brigade that went to the support of the brigade that included the 54th Massachusetts. The 7th was 505 men strong at the time and lost 77 killed or mortally wounded, 11 of whom were officers.

In December 1863, the regiment, like the Seventh Connecticut, was rearmed with Spencer carbines. At about the same time it also received a large number of substitutes and draftees, men of which the New Hampshire veterans had an unwaveringly low opinion. Unfortunately, upon the regiment's arrival in Florida, several of its companies were forced to exchange their Spencers for the Springfield rifled-muskets of the Fortieth Massachusetts. The weapons they received were in very poor condition, many without bayonets and some were not even in firing condition. This influx of new, untrained substitutes, coupled with the weapons problem, undoubtedly affected the performance of the Seventh New Hampshire at Olustee.

In the Florida Campaign, the regiment would not perform to its previous high standard. The Seventh collapsed in confusion early in the fighting, an event which contributed greatly to the Federal defeat. Two hundred and eight men of the regiment became casualties in the battle, including 120 missing. The Seventh later fought near Richmond and Petersburg, and in the Fort Fisher assault. It lost 668 men killed and wounded during the war.

Colonel Abbott's Official Report of the Battle

Boston Journal article on 7th New Hampshire, March 4, 1864
Excerpt from the book A History of Seventh Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion
Letters of Pvt. James Flynn
Photograph of Lt. Charles Farley, Company H
Photograph of a soldier of the 7th New Hampshire
Frock uniform coat of Sergeant Daniel Hayden

External Web sites related to the Battle of Olustee
History and Rosters of the 7th New Hampshire
History of the 7th New Hampshire
The Calvin Shedd Papers: The Civil War in Florida: Letters of a New Hampshire Soldier
Wikipedia page on the 7th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry

7th New Hampshire Reenacting Units
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Union Order of Battle
Battle of Olustee Home Page
http://battleofolustee.org/