1st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Heavy Artillery The 1st Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Heavy Artillery was a unit that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War . It was originally raise as the 14th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry . History . 14th Mass Infantry . The 14th Massachusetts Infantry began its recruitment in spring 1861 , most of its members coming from Essex County . They were mustered in on 5 July 1861 , and left the state on 7 August for Washington , DC , where it would serve in its defenses until the end of the year . Colonel William B Greene , a West Point graduate and a veteran of the Florida Indian Wars , resigned in October , and was replaced as leader of the unit by Col Thomas R Tannatt , who transferred over from the 16th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry . Reorganization as artillery . On 1 January 1862 , the regiment was reorganized and became a heavy artillery regiment . As artillery units required more men , fifty additional soldiers were added to each company and two additional ones were formed . They served in several military garrisons around Washington , including forts Woodbury , Tillinghast , Craig , Albany , and DeKalb . Early skirmishes . On 26 August 1862 , the regiment was sent to the front , and was present at the Second Battle of Bull Run , though it did not participate . During the Union retreat from the battlefield , Confederate cavalry overtook the 1st Massachusetts , capturing the surgical staff , the wagoners , and others . The doctors were quickly released , while the others were later paroled . A battalion of two companies were detached ( two more joined a month or two later ) on 27 September 1862 and sent to Maryland Heights , where they were to serve until December 1863 . When the Union army abandoned its position at Winchester , VA in June 1863 , Company I stayed behind to destroy the guns and ammunition , and 44 men were captured on 10 June . At this time , Company H was covering the army ' s retreat from Harpers Ferry . First engagement . On 17 May 1864 , many heavy artillery regiments filled in as infantry units and joined the Army of the Potomac as part of Grant ' s 1864 campaign . In their first real engagement as a regiment , they engaged Ewell ' s Division at Harris Farm , on the Fredericksburg Road near Spotsylvania , VA on 19 May 1864 . In this battle , they lost 55 killed , 312 wounded , and 27 missing . In reserve during the Battle of North Anna on 23 – 26 May 1864 , losing only 1 killed , they moved on to Cold Harbor , losing two members during the trench warfare there from 4 – 12 June . Siege of Petersburg . The regiment took part in the assault on Petersburg on the 16 June 1864 , and lost 25 killed and 132 wounded . They remained as part of the siege of the city until April 1865 . During this time , they were also involved in the Battle of Globe Tavern ( or the 2nd Battle of Weldon Railroad ) , when 185 men were captured when a Confederate offensive flanked the division , and the Battle of Hatcher ' s Run . Lee ' s surrender . Following Lee ' s surrender in April 1865 , the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery returned to Washington , DC and stationed the forts until they were mustered out in August . They returned to Boston on the 20th , and were encamped at Gallop ' s Island until the 25th , when they were paid and discharged . Complement . Through its four years of service , the regiment had a total of 2552 soldiers in its ranks , consisting of 24 field officers and staff , 111 line officers , and 2417 enlisted men . Losses . A total of 486 officers and men were lost , 215 of them killed or died of wounds , 115 died by disease or accident , 156 died as prisoners , and four dead listed as MIA .