101st Infantry Regiment (United States)

101st Infantry Regiment (9th Massachusetts)
Active	1861–1864. 1898-1993
Country	United States
Branch	Massachusetts Army National Guard
Type	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Motto(s)	Semper Paratus
Engagements	American Civil War Battle of Gaines's Mill, Battle of Malvern Hill, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of Spotsylvania, Battle of Manassas, Battle of Antietam. Spanish–American War Cuban Campaign World War I Spring Offensive, Third Battle of the Aisne, Second Battle of the Marne, Battle of Saint-Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne Offensive. World War II Lorraine Campaign, Battle of Metz, Battle of the Bulge, Push to the Rhine, Actions across the Rhine.

The 101st Infantry Regiment was a formation of the United States Army, Massachusetts Army National Guard. Its history dates back to the American Civil War, and continues to the Spanish–American War, World War I, and World War II before being deactivated in 1993. The spirit of this unit and its history lives on in the modern 26th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Massachusetts Army National Guard.

Originally, the 101st Regiment was the 9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the "Fighting Ninth," and it was first mustered into federal service on 20 June 1861. Many of the men and officers were Irish immigrants, and under the leadership of Colonel Thomas Cass, the Massachusetts soldiers fought in ten major engagements during the war. The regiment was initially blooded at the Battle of Gaines's Mill and again at the Battle of Malvern Hill. The Fighting Ninth went on to battle the Confederates at the Battle of Second Manassas, where the Union Army was soundly defeated, and at the Battle of Antietam, where a slight Union victory prompted Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. The 9th Massachusetts was then heavily engaged in two subsequent Union defeats; the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville before taking part in the momentous Battle of Gettsyburg, where Union forces delivered a decisive victory against the Confederates. As a part of General Ulysses Grant's army, the 9th fought at the Battle of Spotsylvania as part of the Overland Campaign. Near the infamous Bloody Angle, the 9th marched on Laurel Hill and the regimental commander, COL Guiney was severely wounded, and the exhausted regiment was withdrawn. It was finally mustered out of service on 21 June 1864 in Boston after seeing much action.