During the US Civil War, manpower shortages hit both sides. The Union and Confederates scrambled to find bodies to put in uniform, and at times they got creative. One instance of creativity on the Union’s side, as seen below, was the establishment of a regiment of elderly soldiers. It came to be nicknamed “The Graybeard Regiment” and its members “The Graybeards”.

A Regiment of Overage Soldiers

Early in war, recruiters in the North were flooded with volunteers eager to preserve the Union and crush the rebellion. So many rushed to volunteer that recruiters in the war’s opening weeks were often forced to turn away would-be soldiers. However, as the months dragged on, and the casualties mounted – more than anybody had thought possible at war’s outbreak. Sober reality set in that this was going to be a longer, tougher, and deadlier slog than initially expected. So the numbers of those flocking to the colors began to decline.

So the authorities began to get creative in their quest to find enough men to put in uniform. In Iowa, as recruitment figures dwindled, a fifty-year-old farmer named George W. Kincaid had an idea. To rekindle some enthusiasm for service, and simultaneously prod able-bodied young men to do their bit, he proposed the formation of a regiment of men past normal military age. Iowa’s governor approved, and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton applauded the notion. Accordingly, Kincaid was named colonel of a new unit, the 37^th Iowa Infantry Regiment, comprised of men aged above 45.

The Graybeard Regiment

More than 1000 men signed up for the 37^th Iowa Infantry Regiment. Most were in their forties, fifties, and sixties, but quite a few were in their seventies, and at least one, Curtis King, was eighty-years-old when he enlisted. The regiment’s average age was 57 years. The men had to be in good health and capable of performing military duties. It was understood that such duties would be light, in the rear rather than on the front lines, but they still had to be able to fight if necessary.

The 37^th Iowa Infantry, which came to be better known by its nickname, “The Graybeard Regiment”, was mustered into federal service on December 15^th, 1862. It performed its assigned duties and served until war’s end, at which point it was mustered out on May 24^th, 1865. The men of the Graybeard Regiment ably served as prison camp guards, protected supply trains, and manned guard posts in the Western Theater. Such rear echelon duties freed up younger men for front line combat service.

The Union’s Old Soldiers Served Their Country Well

The Graybeard Regiment seldom saw combat. On one occasion, however, on June 5^th, 1865, a detachment of fifty men defended a supply train from a rebel guerrilla attack near Holly Springs, Mississippi. In the ensuing fight, three Graybeards were killed, and another four were wounded. Throughout most of history and until well into the modern era, many times more soldiers died in camp from illness than perished in the battlefield from combat. In the Civil War era, germ theory had not yet been discovered, so as with previous war, illnesses were often a major issue.

Medical authorities in the 1860s knew relatively little about how diseases were transmitted or how to treat them. Combine that with often unsanitary conditions in which masses of men were crammed together in camps, plus the hardships and rigors of war, and it is unsurprising that more men died of illness than from combat. Throughout the Civil War, 1041 men served in the 37^th Iowa. Of those, only 3 perished in combat, but more than 145 died of disease. Another 350 were discharged for various disabilities.

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Some Sources & Further Reading

History Halls – Immigrants in the US Civil War

History Net – George W. Kincaid and the 37^th Iowa Infantry in the US Civil War

Iowa in the Civil War – Roster and Records of Iowa Soldiers, War of the Rebellion, Historical Sketches of Volunteer Organizations, Vol. V: Historical Sketch, Thirty Seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry