58th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
| 58th Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry | |
|---|---|
.svg) |
|
| Active | August 27, 1861–October 1, 1865 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Allegiance | Union |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Regiment |
| Nickname(s) | Polish Legion |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski |
The 58th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also called the Polish Legion, was an infantry regiment of United States Volunteers in Union Army service during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed almost entirely of immigrant volunteers: Poles, Germans, Danes, Italians, Russians, and Frenchmen, most of whom were recruited at New York City in 1861.
In August 1861, Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski, a Polish officer who had fought in the Greater Poland Uprising (1848), was authorized by United States Secretary of War Simon Cameron to recruit a regiment. Krzyżanowski recruited about 400 men, whom Krzyżanowski called the United States Rifles. Cameron also authorized Frederick Gellman to recruit a regiment. Gellman recruited men, whom Gellman called the Morgan Rifles, in honor of Edwin D. Morgan, the governor of New York State. The Morgan Rifles was formed largely by consolidating with three other groups of volunteers: the Polish Legion, the Gallatin Rifles and the Humboldt Yaegers, which had been recruited by Colonel Julian Allen, Col. Theodore Lichtenstein and Col. Andrew Lutz, respectively. Separately, neither Krzyżanowski nor Gellman recruited enough volunteers to form a ten company regiment.
The regiment was constituted October 19, 1861, by consolidating four companies recruited by Krzyżanowski and six companies previously consolidated by Gellman. Krzyzanowski was commissioned a colonel, and Gellman a lieutenant colonel. The regiment recruits had mustered into United States service at New York City between August 27 and November 5. The regiment deployed from New York State on November 7 and proceeded to Washington, D.C. where it was attached to Brigadier General Henry Bohlen's Brigade of General Ludwig Blenker's Division, a division containing three brigades, whose regiments were composed almost entirely of immigrants.
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