The 38th New York Infantry Regiment was a two-year infantry regiment in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War.

John Henry Hobart Ward was an American soldier who fought in the Mexican–American War and in the American Civil War. Ward joined the army in 1842 and fought in multiple battles in the Mexican–American war, including the Battle of Monterrey, where he was wounded. After leaving the army, he served successively as the assistant commissary general and commissary general for the state of New York. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Ward rejoined the army, and became the colonel of the 38th New York Infantry Regiment. Ward and his regiment were engaged in the First Battle of Bull Run and in several battles in the Peninsula campaign. He was promoted to command a brigade after the Battle of Chantilly in September 1862.