27th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry The 27th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment recruited in Massachusetts for service in the American Civil War . History . The ten companies of the 27th Massachusetts Volunteers were recruited in the western part of the State in the late summer and fall of 1861 . The original recruits were officially mustered in for 3 years at Springfield between Sept . 19 and 27 . The original recruitment of each of the 10 companies were centered in the following communities : Company A ( Northampton ) , Company B ( Athol ) , Company C ( large variety of Western Mass . towns ) , Company D ( Amherst , Hadley ) , Company E ( Great Barrington , Lee , Pittsfield ) , Company F ( Westfield , Granville , Southwick , Tolland ) , Company G ( Chicopee , Northampton , Holyoke ) , Company H ( Adams , Williamstown ) , Company I ( Ludlow , Wilbraham , Brimfield , Palmer ) and Company K ( Springfield ) . Once fully outfitted , they were sent south to Annapolis , Maryland . in November and remained there undergoing instructions and drill for two months . In January , 1862 , the regiment was shipped to North Carolina and assigned to Foster ' s ( 1st ) Brigade . The regiment ' s first battles were fought at Roanoke Island and New Berne in December . The regiment remained in North Carolina during the next two years . Because Colonel Horace C . Lee was in command of the brigade most of the time , the regiment was mostly under the direct command of Lieutenant - Colonel Luke Lyman . During its stay in North Carolina it was engaged with credit in numerous minor battles and skirmishes . In April , 1863 , it aided in the siege of Washington , North Carolina . After the return to New Berne an expedition to Gum swamp was undertaken and in an engagement there a number of prisoners were captured . New Berne was the regiment ' s headquarters until Oct . 10 , 1863 , when it was ordered to Newport News and was for a time occupied with routine duties at Norfolk and Portsmouth . In April , 1864 , the 27th Massachusetts was assigned to the Army of the James . It embarked for Virginia , docking at Yorktown , thence to Williamsburg , Fortress Monroe and Bermuda Hundred , where it landed and marched to Cobb ' s hill . Soon afterward , the 27th was sent into action . The battles of Dunn ' s farm and Port Walthall Junction followed and during one day the regiment had 5 wounded , while 50 were disabled by sunstroke . At Arrowfield Church the 27th was engaged as well . On May 16 , the 27th was engaged at the Battle of Drewry ' s Bluff . After a brave defense of their position , much of the regiment was surrounded while fighting in a dense fog , losing in addition to its killed and wounded , 252 of its number taken prisoners . Among the captured were the Colonel , Lieutenant - Colonel , and General Heckman . Among those capture , some 120 would later die in prison suffering appalling conditions at Andersonville . On May 26 , the regiment was transferred to the Army of the Potomac . Within a week , Major William A . Walker was killed leading the regiment in the bloody assault on Confederate positions at Cold Harbor on June 3 . In this battle , an additional 22 were killed , 68 wounded , and 4 missing . The remnants of the regiment were ordered to Petersburg to join in on the assault this city . In the assault on Petersburg , June 15 , 1864 , the 27th sustained a further loss of 13 killed , and 30 wounded , and was briefly left without any officer to lead them . After a very short rest , they were returned to active duty before Petersburg , which was the last service of those who had not reenlisted . The reenlisted men and recruits of the 27th were sent south to Beaufort , North Carolina , encamped at Carolina City , thence to Beaufort , Plymouth and Jamestown , where the enemy ' s skirmishers were encountered . The Confederates disputed the possession of the bridge at Foster ' s mills , but after the 27th crossed , retreated and the regiment pushed forward and captured a Confederate force at Butler ' s bridge . It returned in January 1865 to New Berne . On March 8 , it was attacked at Southwest Creek ( Wise ' s Forks ) , where the whole brigade , with a few exceptions , was captured , after resisting for an hour in an engagement with Confederate General Hoke ' s entire division of 8 , 000 men . The national and state colors barely escaped capture . Color Sergeant John McCleary ( national ) and Color - Corporal William W . Cummings were both wounded and the colors taken over by Cpl Lafayette Babb and Pvt Leverett Clarke . When capture became certain , these two men wrapped the colors around the staffs , hid them under a rotten log , and covered it with leaves and grass . When the prisoners were exchanged in April they told other members of the regiment at New Berne where to find the flags and they were recovered . The captives were taken to Richmond , paroled and then furloughed . The few who escaped , reinforced by recruits and convalescents , were assigned to guard duty at New Berne until mustered out . Western Massachusetts and the Twenty - Seventh Regiment . During the course of the Civil War , there were three regiments that were recruited from towns located in the four western - most counties of Massachusetts ( Berkshire , Franklin , Hampden , and Hampshire ) . These included the 10th , 27th , and 46th Volunteers . In the 27th Massachusetts , the towns that supplied at least 10 men to the regiment include : Springfield ( 124 ) Northampton ( 86 ) Amherst ( 72 ) Chicopee ( 61 ) Adams ( 60 ) Athol ( 56 ) Westfield ( 54 ) Granville ( 35 ) Hadley ( 34 ) Ludlow ( 34 ) Great Barrington ( 31 ) Lee ( 29 ) Pittsfield ( 29 ) Wilbraham ( 28 ) Montague ( 24 ) Brimfield ( 20 ) Easthampton ( 20 ) New Salem ( 19 ) Williamsburg ( 19 ) Belchertown ( 19 ) Williamstown ( 18 ) Holyoke ( 18 ) Southwick ( 17 ) Greenfield ( 16 ) Leverett ( 16 ) Palmer ( 16 ) Worthington ( 16 ) Blandford ( 15 ) Tolland ( 14 ) Wendell ( 14 ) Deerfield ( 13 ) Ware ( 13 ) Charlemont ( 12 ) Erving ( 12 ) Granby ( 12 ) Northfield ( 12 ) Huntington ( 11 ) Shelburne ( 11 ) Shutesbury ( 11 ) Enfield , MA ( 10 ) Monterey ( 10 ) Pelham ( 10 ) South Hadley ( 10 ) Roll of Honor . The total number of men who served under the flag of the 27th Massachusetts was 1 , 543 . Of this number , 329 did not survive the war . This total includes 121 killed or mortally wounded in battle , 132 who died in prison , 68 who died by disease , and 8 that died by accident . In addition , 49 men were discharged for wounds , and another 265 for disability . An additional 56 men were transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps . Three men were discharged by court martial . Five officers left the 27th Massachusetts to accept commissions as officers in U . S . Colored Troops . Flags . Between October 18 , 1861 , and June 15 , 1864 , eight flags were presented to the Massachusetts 27th Infantry Regiment . Of the eight flags , three are presently on display in the Hall Of Flags in Boston , Massachusetts .