The 121st New York Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the "Onesers" or "Upton's Regulars", was a volunteer
regiment recruited during the
American Civil War from
Otsego County and
Herkimer County,
New York.[2] The Hon.
Richard Franchot was appointed colonel of the regiment and authorized to establish his headquarters at
Richfield Springs, Otsego County. He proceeded without delay to organize the regiment, and on August 23, 1862, the regiment was mustered into the service of the
Union Army. The command at that time consisted of 39 officers and 946 enlisted men. The 121st Regiment proceeded to
Washington, arriving there on the morning of September 3, and was assigned provisionally to a brigade under Colonel Gibson with headquarters at
Fort Lincoln.
There is an interesting controversy concerning who captured Confederate Major General Custis Lee, son of Robert E. Lee, at the
Battle of Sailor's Creek Virginia on April 6, 1865. Private Harris Hawthorn of the 121st New York claimed his capture and applied for and received the Medal of Honor for this act in the year 1894. The 37th Massachusetts Infantry disputed this award in the year 1897, claiming that Private
David Dunnels White of their regiment was the actual captor of Major General Custis Lee. This entire matter is currently under review by the United States Army.
Organization
The companies were recruited principally from these towns and organized by region: