SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY. 223

The 6th Regiment having been transferred to the 6th Corps on March 23, 1864,
took its place in line of battle with that justly celebrated fighting corps of the Army of
the Potomac, in the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864.

The 6th Regiment participated in all the battles that followed the battle of the Wil-
derness, and at Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, behaved with great gal-
lantry, suffering severely.

In July, 1864, when the Confederate army, under General Early, invaded Maryland
and attempted to capture the capital of the nation, the 6th Army Corps, including this
regiment, was sent from Grant's army at Petersburg to drive the enemy back. The
timely arrival of the 6th Army Corps did not only save the capital from capture, but
speedily expelled the enemy from Maryland.

A new army was created in the Shenandoah Valley and General Sheridan placed in
command, with instructions to destroy, utterly, all the Confederate forces in that section,
where four long years of alternate victory and defeat had attended the Union armies.

This regiment, with the 6th Army Corps, took a conspicuous part in the splendid
Union victories, under General Sheridan, that crowned the efforts of this army at Win-
chester, Virginia, September 19, Fisher's Hill, Va., September 22, and Cedar Creek,
Va., October 19, 1864.

After the utter destruction of all the Confederate armies in the Shenandoah Valley
of Virginia, the 6th Regiment, with the 6th Army Corps, returned to General Grant's army
in front of Petersburg, in the latter part of 1864. The regiment participated with the
6th Corps in the assault and capture of Petersburg, Va., April 2, at the battle of Sailor's
Creek, April 6, and at the final surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox Court House,
Va., April 9, 1865.

Immediately after the surrender of Lee, the 6th Corps, with Custer' s Cavalry, made
a forced march of 100 miles to Danville, Va., with the view of intercepting the Confed-
erate General Johnson, who was marching to the relief of Lee. Johnson, however, being
apprised of this movement, surrendered to General Sherman at Greensboro, N. C.

From Danville the 6th Corps and Sheridan's Cavalry corps marched direct to Wash-
ington, and, arriving too late for the general review, were reviewed separately by Presi-
dent Lincoln, after which the regiment was finally disbanded at Baltimore, Md.

The 6th Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, is classified as one of the three
hundred fighting regiments of the Civil War. Its casualties were as follows: Killed, 8
commissioned officers and 120 enlisted men ; total, one hundred and twenty-eight; died
of disease, etc., one commissioned officer, and one hundred and seven enlisted men.
Aggregate loss by death, two hundred and thirty-six men ; and two hundred and thirty-
three enlisted men wounded in battle.

This regiment, in its arduous campaigns, traveled by railroad 575 miles, by boat
577 miles, and on foot 1751 miles, a total distance of 2908 miles.

In addition to the numerous skirmishes and engagements in which the 6th Regiment
participated, the regiment has been accredited by the War Department, U. S. Army, for
its good conduct in the following official list of battles, viz.: Winchester, Wilderness,
Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Opequan, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, Wap-
ping Heights, and Sailor's Creek.