The 2nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Major George H. Gordon (later Brigadier General), a West Point graduate and veteran of the Mexican–American War, organized the unit's recruitment and formation. The 2nd Massachusetts was trained at Camp Andrew in West Roxbury, Massachusetts on the site of the former Transcendentalist utopian community, Brook Farm. Roughly half the regiment was mustered in on May 18, 1861 and the remainder on May 25, 1861 for a term of three years. The regiment saw extensive combat as part of the Army of the Potomac particularly during the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg. Organization and early service Under the direction of Major George H. Gordon of the Union Army, recruiting offices for the 2nd Massachusetts were opened in Boston immediately after the first group of volunteer regiments departed Massachusetts for Washington. This enthusiasm was quickly dampened and the offices closed due to the fact that Massachusetts had filled its quota and therefore could neither recruit nor send any additional volunteer units until a call was issued by the U.S. War Department. The unit's future second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel George Leonard Andrews, made a trip to Washington to meet with Secretary of War Simon Cameron and obtained special permission to recruit a new regiment and wait until such time as it would be summoned by the federal government. Recruiting proceeded and the regiment began training in May 1861 at Camp Andrew in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, just south of Boston. On July 8, the regiment left for Maryland where it joined the forces under General Robert Patterson. In 1861, the regiment served guarding the upper Potomac River and Frederick, Maryland, and in the spring of 1862, the regiment served under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, unsuccessfully opposing Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. In June, the regiment was transferred to the Union Army of Virginia and participated in General Pope"s Northern Virginia Campaign. During this time, Colonel Gordon was promoted to brigadier general and commanded the brigade. Lieutenant Colonel Andrews was promoted to colonel and given command of the 2nd Massachusetts. Major Dwight was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Battle of Antietam, and early 1863 In August, the regiment became part of the 3rd Brigade (commanded by Gordon), 1st Division (commanded by Major General Alpheus S. Williams), II Corps (commanded by Banks),