4th Vermont Infantry The 4th Regiment , Vermont Volunteer Infantry ( or 4th VVI ) was a three year ' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War . It served in the Eastern Theater , predominantly in the VI Corps , Army of the Potomac , from September 1861 to July 1865 . It was a member of the Vermont Brigade . History . In July 1861 , Congress authorized President Abraham Lincoln to call out 500 , 000 men , to serve for three years unless sooner discharged . The 4th Vermont Infantry was the third of the three years regiments from the state placed in the field as a result of this call , and organized simultaneously with the 5th Vermont Infantry . It was recruited from towns mostly in the southern part of the state . Nine of its ten companies were recruited from the east side of the state , an important cultural division at the time . Governor Erastus Fairbanks ' first choice to command the regiment was Lt . Col . Peter T . Washburn , late of the 1st Vermont Infantry , but he declined due to poor health . Fairbanks ' second choice was 2nd Lt . Edwin H . Stoughton , U . S . Army , an 1859 graduate of the United States Military Academy in the 6th U . S . Infantry . He was a native of Bellows Falls . Maj . Harry W . Worthen , of Bedford , late of the 1st Vermont Infantry , was selected lieutenant colonel . John C . Tyler of Brattleboro became major , and Charles B . Stoughton , Edwin ' s younger brother , became adjutant . The regiment rendezvoused at Brattleboro by September 14 on the grounds of what is now Brattleboro Union High School . The camp was named " Camp Holbrook , " in honor of Governor Frederick Holbrook , of Brattleboro , who had just been elected . On September 21 , the regiment , 1048 men strong , was mustered into Federal service , left that evening and arrived in Washington , D . C . the evening of September 23 , and went into camp on Capitol Hill . Four days later , the regiment marched to the Chain Bridge , where it joined the 2nd , 3rd and 5th regiments . On October 9 , the Vermont regiments moved to Camp Griffin , about four miles from Chain Bridge . Here , on October 24 , the 6th Vermont Infantry arrived , completing the initial organization of the " Old Vermont Brigade . " The history of the regiment from this point on is essentially that of the Vermont Brigade , except for several senior personnel changes . Lieutenant Colonel Worthen and Major Tyler resigned on January 17 , 1862 . Adjutant Stoughton became lieutenant colonel , and George P . Foster , Captain , Co . G , was promoted to major . Colonel Stoughton was promoted to brigadier general on November 5 , 1862 ; Charles Stoughton became Colonel , Major Foster lieutenant colonel , and Stephen M . Pingree , originally 1st lieutenant , Co . E , became major . After Charles Stoughton was discharged for wounds , Foster became the final commander of the regiment , and Pingree was promoted to lieutenant colonel . Both Charles Stoughton and George Foster would later be brevetted brigadier general for their gallant and meritorious service . One June 23 , 1864 , the regiment " suffered the greatest loss of men by capture " it ever experienced . It was engaged with the brigade and the Sixth Corps in a movement against the Weldon Railroad , and was thrown out in front under command of Major Pratt , with a battalion of the eleventh . The enemy broke through the line with a strong force , and surrounded and captured seven officers and 137 men of the Fourth , as well as almost the entire battalion of the Eleventh . The colors of the Fourth were saved by the activity and coolness of the color guard . The officers so captured were Major Pratt , Captains Chapin and Boutin , and Lieutenants Carr , Fisher , Needham and Pierce . Among the killed was Captain William C . Tracy , of Co . G . His dead body was found on the field next day , stripped of arms , watch , money and boots , and surrounded by the muskets of his men , showing that he had rallied his company around him , and that they threw down their arms only when their gallant leader had fallen . " The original members of the regiment , who did not reenlist , were mustered out of the service on September 30 , 1864 . The First , Second and Third Companies of Sharpshooters transferred to the regiment on February 25 , 1865 , and the regiment was consolidated into eight companies . One year recruits and others whose term of service was due to expire prior to October 1 , 1865 , were mustered out on June 19 , 1865 . The remaining officers and men mustered out of service on July 13 . Medal of Honor . Five members of the regiment were awarded the Medal of Honor . See also . Vermont in the Civil War