69th Indiana Infantry Regiment The 69th Regiment Indiana Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War . Service . The 69th Indiana Infantry was organized at Richmond , Indiana and mustered in for a three year enlistment on August 19 , 1862 under the command of Colonel Thomas Warren Bennett . The regiment was attached to Manson ' s Brigade , Army of Kentucky , Department of the Ohio . Attached to 1st Brigade , 9th Division , Right Wing , XIII Corps , Department of the Tennessee , to December 1862 . 1st Brigade , 3rd Division , Sherman ' s Yazoo Expedition , to January 1863 . 1st Brigade , 9th Division , XIII Corps , Army of the Tennessee , to July 1863 . 3rd Brigade , 1st Division , XIII Corps , Army of the Tennessee , to August 1863 , and Department of the Gulf to March 1864 . 2nd Brigade , 1st Division , XIII Corps , to June 1864 . 2nd Brigade , 3rd Division , XIX Corps , Department of the Gulf , to December 1864 . District of Southern Alabama , Department of the Gulf , December 1864 . 3rd Brigade , Reserve Corps , Military Division West Mississippi , to February 1865 . 2nd Brigade , 2nd Division , Reserve Corps , Military Division West Mississippi , February , 1865 . 2nd Brigade , 2nd Division , XIII Corps , Military Division West Mississippi , to July 1865 . The 69th Indiana Infantry mustered out of service July 5 , 1865 . Detailed service . Left Indiana for Lexington , Ky . , August 20 . Battle of Richmond , Ky . , August 30 . Regiment captured August 30 ; paroled and sent to Indianapolis , Ind . Reorganized at Indianapolis until November 27 , 1862 . Left Indiana for Memphis , Tenn . , November 27 , 1862 . Sherman ' s Yazoo Expedition December 20 , 1862 to January 3 , 1863 . Chickasaw Bayou December 26 – 28 . Chickasaw Bluff December 29 . Expedition to Arkansas Post , Ark . , January 3 – 10 , 1863 . Assault and capture of Fort Hindman , Arkansas Post , January 10 – 11 . Moved to Young ' s Point , La . , January 17 , and duty there until March 8 . Moved to Milliken ' s Bend , La . , March 8 , and duty there until April 25 . Roundaway Bayou , Richmond , March 31 . Operations from Milliken ' s Bend to New Carthage March 31 - April 17 . James ' Plantation , near New Carthage , April 6 . Movement on Bruinsburg and turning Grand Gulf April 25 – 30 . Battle of Port Gibson May 1 . Battle of Champion Hill May 16 . Big Black Bridge May 17 . Siege of Vicksburg May 18 - July 4 . Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22 . Advance on Jackson , Miss . , July 4 – 10 . Near Clinton July 8 . Near Jackson July 9 . Siege of Jackson July 10 – 17 . Moved to New Orleans , La . , August 13 . Duty at Carrollton , Brashear City and Berwick until October . Western Louisiana " Teche " Campaign October 3 - November 30 . Ordered to Algiers December 13 , then moved to Texas December 18 . Duty at Matagorda Bay and Indianola until February 1864 , and at Matagorda Island until April 19 . Moved to New Orleans , thence to Alexandria , La . , April 19 – 27 . Red River Campaign April 27 - May 22 . Actions at Alexandria April 29 and May 2 to 9 . Graham ' s Plantation May 5 . Retreat to Morganza May 13 – 20 . Duty at Morganza until December . Expedition to the Atchafalaya May 30 - June 6 . Expedition to mouth of White River and St . Charles , Ark . , September 13 – 20 . Moved to Dauphin Island , Mobile Bay , December 7 . Granger ' s Pascagoula Expedition December 14 , 1864 to January 1 , 1865 . Duty at Pascagoula until January 31 . Consolidated to a battalion of four companies January 22 . Moved to Barrancas , Fla . , January 31 ; then to Pensacola , Fla . , March 14 . Steele ' s march through Florida to Mobile March 20 - April 1 . Occupation of Pollard March 26 . Siege of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely April 1 – 9 . Assault and capture of Fort Blakely April 9 . March to Montgomery and Selma April 13 – 22 . Return to Mobile May 3 and duty there until July . Drownings at Matagorda Bay . A tragedy of mass drownings involving the 69th Indiana occurred at Matagorda Bay , Texas during preparations for the invasion of Texas . The regiment was ordered to assemble at Matagorda Island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in preparation for a march north to Tyler . To move from their inland camp at Indianola on Matagorda Bay to Matagorda Island , it was necessary to cross a 300 - yard stretch of the bay using a ferry made up of pontoon boat s tied together in a raft . The raft could carry about three companies at a time . On Sunday afternoon , March 13 , 1864 , the regiment began to cross . On the raft ' s third trip , while carrying companies B , G , and K together with their camp follower s , the raft was swamped by a swift incoming tide . Two officers and 21 enlisted men drowned , with many others carried over a mile away before they could be rescued . Casualties . The regiment lost a total of 331 men during service ; 3 officers and 77 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded , 3 officers and 248 enlisted men died of disease .