14. pułk piechoty z Luizjany w wojnie secesyjnej w latach 1861–1865

Abstract

The 14th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, called “Polish regiment” has not been properly elaborated in Polish and American historiography. The research on the topic was started by the author of this text in 2007. The aim of this article is to present statistical data concerning this unit, consisting of 1296 soldiers. The recruitment for the unit began in the second half of May 1861, and the majority of the volunteers came from New Orleans. Only 556 soldiers (42.9%) disclosed their age. The average soldier was 26.5 years old. The name John was the most popular (198 – at least 15.3%) of 138 names in the regiment. 641 (49.4%) soldiers revealed their occupation. Among 60 occupations, physical workers were the most numerous (301). On the basis of the data provided by 666 soldiers (51.3%) concerning their place of birth, it may be concluded that 290 of them were born in America, whereas 376 – abroad. Among the representatives of 13 foreign nations, the Irish were the most numerous – 249. The place of residence was disclosed by a half of the soldiers of the regiment (648). As many as 456 of them resided in New Orleans. During the conflict, 33 officers resigned from the service and 105 people (8.1%) were exempted, as, for health reasons, they were unfit for military service. During the functioning of the regiment, at least 280 soldiers (21.6%) deserted. Additionally, 36 soldiers (among them 7 officers) had trials before martial courts. According to the sources, 138 soldiers of the regiment (10.6%) were killed, 115 people (8.87%) died and at least 299 veterans (23%) were wounded. During the war at least 350 soldiers of the 14th Regiment (27%) were in the Union captivity. The fate of 366 people is unknown.