The 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment enlisted 38 officers and 743 enlisted men. It lost 2 enlisted man killed or mortally wounded, 1 died in an accident, and 4 enlisted men to disease during the Civil War. Four men were discharged for disability and two deserted.
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1861
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| May 2 | Organized at Camp Fairbanks at Rutland under Colonel John Phelps of Brattleboro, a West Point graduate (USMA1836) and Lieutenant Colonel Peter T. Washburn of Woodstock. |
| May 8 | Mustered in for three months Federal Service |
| May 9 | Left State for New York City |
| May 10 | Arrived in New York |
| May 10 | Left for Fortress Monroe on steamship Alabama |
| May 13 | Arrived Fortress Monroe, Va. and assigned to the Department of Virginia under Major General Butler. Camp at Hygea Hotel. |
| May 20 | Demonstration on Hampton |
| May 23 | Reconnoissance of six miles to Hampton. |
| May 27 | Embarked on steamships Cataline and Monticello for Newport News and occupied the town. |
| June 9 |
Advance on Big BethelFive companies of the 1st Vermont and five companies of the 4th Massachusetts under the command of the 1st Vermont’s Lieutenant Colonel Washburn joined the Union attack. |
| June 10 |
Battle of Big BethelThe overly complex attack was badly bungled, with a friendly fire incident giving away the element of surprise. The 1st Vermont lost 2 men killed, 3 wounded, and 1 man missing. The relatively minor skirmish was one of the first serious fights of the war and was viewed at the time with exaggerated importance. |
| August 4-7 | Sailed on steamships Ben de Ford and R. Spaulding to New Haven, Connecticut, then moved by train to Brattleboro, Vt. |
| August 15 | Mustered out. Over 600 members of the regiment reenlisted and around 250 became officers in various Northern units during the war. |