General Joseph J Bartlett War Time Signature with Rank Commanding 1^st Division 5^thCorp 4” X 2 3/16”

Bartlett and the 27th New York Infantry saw their first combat in the First Battle of Bull Run. When General Slocum was briefly incapacitated by a wound, Bartlett assumed command of the 27th New York for the rest of the fight. His aggressive actions to guard the rear during the subsequent retreat were rewarded on September 21 when General McDowell promoted Bartlett to colonel replacing Slocum, who was elevated to brigadier general.

In 1862, as part of the Army of the Potomac’s VI Corp, Bartlett led his regiment throughout the Peninsular Campaign and the Maryland Campaign. He led a determined attack up the steep mountainside towards Crampton's Gap during the Battle of South Mountain earning him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and assigned command of an infantry brigade in the VI Corps.

In May 1863 at the Battle of Salem Church, he lost more than a third of his 1,500 men, yet managed to keep order. His men were primarily in reserve at the Battle of Gettysburg. Bartlett was transferred to V Corp and was active in the Mine Run Campaign later that year, the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg.