Welcome to the homepage of the 52nd New York State Volunteers.  The 52nd was an all-German regiment recruited entirely in New York City in the fall of 1861 to fight for North during the American Civil War.  By the time it mustered out in July of 1865, the regiment had participated in all of the major campaigns of the Army of the Potomac.  The 52nd participated in some of the bloodiest fighting during the war, including the Sunken Road at Antietam, Maryes Heights at Fredericksburg, the Wheatfield at Gettysburg and the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania.

            The 52nd represents the most overlooked ethnic group of the Civil War.  The Germans contributed about 175,000 men to the cause of the Union.  New York alone had more than twenty units entirely of or with a significant number of Germans.  Many other units would have had Germans in their ranks as well.  Despite the bad reputation the Germans have because of the disaster at Chancellorsville and the first day of Gettysburg, they more than proved themselves on the field of battle.  Though many of the German units in the Army of the Potomac served in the 11th Corps, the 52nd NY and 7th NY were two all-German units that served in the 2nd Corps.  They both fought alongside many other famous units of the 2nd Corps, including the Irish Brigade.