USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > History of Monmouth county, New Jersey > Part 44
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their tours of duty, principally in guarding the coast of the ocean and bays bordering Monmouth County.
The formal declaration of war was made on the 19th of June, 1812, but two months before that time a requisition had been made on New Jersey for five thousand men, who were easily raised for the service, and placed under command of General Ludlow.
On the 11th of May, 1813, Captain William Ten Eyck's rifle company, of Freehold, Licu- tenant James Ten Eyck's rifles, of Middletown Point, with the "Jersey Blues," of Trenton, Captain Day's company, of Orange, Plume's Artillery, of Newark, and Davis' Rifles, of Bloomfield, marched to Navesink Highlands for a thirty days' tour of duty. On the 14th of July another call was made for men, under which Captain William Ten Eyck's Rifles and Lieutenant James Ten Eyck's Rifles, of Middle- town Point, were again called out. The terms of service of these and the other companies were short (averaging less than three months), and none of the Monmouth County troops were called on to take part in any active operations against the enemy.
It has not been found practicable to obtain a full list of the Monmouth County officers and soldiers who served in the war, but the names of a considerable number have been gathered from various sources, and are here given : those to which are added the names of the captains under whom they served having been taken from affidavits accompanying pension appli- cations ; the others chiefly from notices of the "Momnouth Old Guard of 1812," viz. :
Thomas C. Throckmorton, first lieutenant in Cap- tain William Ten Eyck's company militia, volun- teered August 21, 1814.
imminent between the two countries, President Jefferson made a call for troops (July 6th), under which call twenty- four companies in the State of New Jersey promptly ten- dered their services. Of these, one-fourth part (six com- panies) were of Monmouth County, viz. : the company of Captain John S. Holmes, of Middletown ; Captain David Craig, of Monmouth (Freehold) ; Captains Philip Ilolmes and Mathias Van Brackle, both of Middletown l'oint ; Cap- tain Benjamin Wardell, of Monmouth ; and Captain Samuel Rogers, of Allentown. These companies were tendered to the Governor on and about the 27th of June, 1807, but their services were not required at that time.
Benjamin Van Cleve, first lieutenant in Captain Robert Conover's company.
Jonathan Pierce. in Captain Daniel D. Hendrick- son's company of militia, serving under Colonel John Frelinghuysen.
Joseph H. Thompson, Captain Thomas White's com- pany, nnder Colonel James Abrahams, May, 1813; also served in Captain Robert Conover's company.
James Covert, Captain William Ten Eyck's company, volunteered in 1814.
John B. Van Cleef, Captain Robert Conover's company. Garrett H. Smock, Captain Ten Eyck's company.
Samuel Van Schoick, Captain Thomas White's com- pany; served at Navesink Highlands, 1813.
Daniel Brower, Captain Robert Conover's company.
John Thompson, Captain Ten Eyek's company.
Nicholas Worrell, Captain Robert Conover's com- pany, Baptisttown, 1814.
Isaac Morris, Captain Hopping's company militia, drafted 1814.
Henry Benham, Captain Robert Conover's company, 1814.
Thomas McGill, Captain Ditmar's company, Colonel John Freylinghuysen's battalion, 1814.
George Duncan, Captain James Newell's company, 1814.
Daniel Christopher, Captain Charles Moore's com- pany, Sandy Hook, 1814.
Jacob Pittenger, Captain Thomas White's company, Colonel Abraham's battalion militia, 1813.
Thomas D. Thompson, Captain Robert Conover's company, Highlands and Sandy Hook, 1814.
Daniel W. Applegate, Captain Robert Conover's com- pany, Highlands and Sandy Hook, 1814.
William I. Hendrickson, Captain Robert Conover's company, Highlands and Sandy Hook, 1814.
Thomas MeTeer, Captain Robert Conover's company, Highlands and Sandy Hook, 1814.
Robert E. Craig, Captain Ten Eyck's company.
Andrew Marks, Captain James Newell's company, 1814; also in Captain William Bradley's com- pany and Captain Obadiah Allen's company.
Cornelius Barkalow, Captain John Frazier's company. John I. Errickson, Captain John Frazier's company. Pearson Thompson, Captain James Robinson's com- pany cavalry, under Colonel Decatur, 1813.
James Connolly, Captain James Robinson's company cavalry, under Colonel Decatur, 1813.
John Applegate, Captain Robert Conover's company, 1814.
Henry L. Van Mater, artillery, under General W. Col- fax.
Daniel S. Hays, Captain Thomas White's company, Highlands, 1813.
Thomas Matthews, Captain Thomas White's com- pany, Highlands, 1813.
Elias E. Bramer, Captain William Ten Eyck's com- pany.
241
MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE MEXICAN WAR.
John Cottrell, Captain Abraham Ditmar's company. Walter Yetman, Captain Robert Conover's company, 1814.
Edward Connolly. Captain Robert Conover's com- pany, 1814.
James Cook, Captain Edwards' company. 1814. Edward West. James Covert.
Thomas Fardon.
Joseph Sickles.
Elias Vanderveer.
Philip Stryker.
Isaac Vandoren.
Robert E. Craig.
Joseph HI. Thompson.
James Herbert.
Hendrick W. Heyer.
Thomas I. Smith.
John Robbins.
Samuel Smith.
K. S. Havens.
William Lamberton.
Peter D. Barkalow.
Joseph Morris.
William Conk.
Joseph P'. Brewer.
Daniel W. Applegate.
Garret HI. Smock.
Daniel Lawrence.
John Compton.
Peter Vandoren.
Elias Truax.
Peter Van Mater. Matthias Golden. Daniel Brewer.
George E. Titlin.
Joshua Wilson.
Jonathan Tunis.
Samuel Posten.
Thomas Lamberton.
John West.
Tunis Aumaek.
Michael Mapes. Joel Mitten.
Nicholas Worrell. Henry Van Mater. Jacob R. Holmes.
Daniel Van Brunt.
William Springsteen.
John Patterson.
Asher Haggerty.
Benjamin Freeman.
Montillon Woolley.
Simeon Freeman.
William Emery. Jacob Garrabrant.
John Taylor.
John R. Smith.
William Brown. \
William Combs.
Jesse White.
Thomas M. Smith.
Joseph Brown.
Henry Latourette.
Peter Snyder.
David Taylor.
Jacob Morris.
Daniel Bennett.
William Reynolds.
Govine Harvey.
John Lane, Sr.
Michael Maps.
John Springsteen.
Asher Ward.
Woodward Dennis.
William Dangler.
William Hoffmire. Elihu Jeffrey.
Peter Williams.
Hendrick Conk.
Joel Mitten.
Peter Stillwagon.
Joshua Wilson.
Hendrick W. Sickles. David Pierce.
Peter Snyder.
Joseph Covert.
Captain Samuel Osborne.
William P. Matthews. Hendrick I. Sickles.
Jacob Luker.
Woodward Dennis.
During the war a great number of British armed vessels cruised along the coast and entered the bay of Sandy Hook, some of the smaller of which were taken by daring American seamen. One of the most notable of these captures was made off Sandy Hook, on the 4th of July, 1813, by "Mad Jack Percival," who, with a party 16
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of sailors disguised as fishermen, sailed boklly out in a fishing-smack and attacked the sloop "Eagle," tender to the British man-of-war "Poietiers." The sloop, which was under com- mand of a midshipman, and carried a brass howitzer and a crew of eleven men, was captured after a short fight, and, with her company and armament, was taken as a prize into New York.
The treaty of peace between the two nations was concluded at Ghent December 24, 1814, was ratified February 17, 1815, and on the fol- lowing day was formally proclaimed by Presi- dent Madison.
In the Mexican War of 1846-48 New Jersey was called on for three companies of infantry, one of which, raised at Trenton by its captain, Joseph A. Yard, became Company G of the Tenth United States Infantry, commanded by Colonel R. E. Temple. The company officers were Captain Joseph A. Yard, First Lientenant George W. Taylor, Second Lieutenants Benja- min Yard and Isaac Patton (transferred to the Third Artillery), First Sergeant William S. Truex (afterwards first lieutenant and trans- ferred), Second Sergeant John A. Lake, Third Sergeant Henry R. Perrine, Fourth Sergeant Charles Williamson, Corporals John B. Nevius, Ellis Harrison, W. P. Tomlinson and Obadiah Ayres. Besides the Monmouth men among the officers, there were a number of privates from this county serving with the company, among whom were William H. Conk, Thomas Conk, Garret S. Cox, Elisha Dunwill, Frederick Meyer, William Osborne, Roger Palmer, Stephen Still- wagon (afterwards sergeant), John A. White and Joseph Dye.
The company. with other soldiers of the Tenth Infantry, embarked on board the brig "G. B. Lamar," in April, 1847, and proceeded to Brazos Santiago. The command remained on duty through the war in the vicinity of Matamoras, and at the close of the conflict returned home, having done its anty well, though seeing very little, if any, of actual fighting. William S. Truex, who went out with this company as sergeant, and on arrival at Brazos was promoted to first lieutenant and transferred to another
William Huffmire.
John Casler.
242
HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
regiment, became a colonel in the War of the Rebellion, and is now living in Monmouth County, at Asbury Park.
In the great war which was waged from 1861 to 1865 for the suppression of rebellion and the preservation of the Union of the States, Monmouth County took an . honorable and pa- triotie part. At the receipt of the intelligence
of the attack on Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, "immediately proceed to the organization of the there were seen everywhere in Monmouth the same demonstrations of loyalty to the Union and of a determination to crush out treason at every hazard, the same enthusiastic meetings and flag-raising's, the same disposition of young men to volunteer and of old men to encourage and aid them in doing so, as were found every- where in the other counties of the patriotic State of New Jersey. And later on in the great struggle, when the Union armies became wasted and thinned by battle and discase, and call after call was made for men to take the places of the dead and disabled ones, there was shown here the same determination to stand by the government, at whatever cost ; and the peo- ple and the local authorities, with the same alacrity, voted the moneys which were neces- sary to accomplish the desired end.
From the time when the President of the United States made the first call for soldiers until the time when the death of the Rebellion rendered further calls unnecessary, the men of Monmouth County responded to each appeal with a patriotic devotion not excelled in any part of the State or of the Union. The names of these soldiers are found on the rolls of a large number of regiments of this and other States; and such of those regiments as were most noticeable for the number of Monmouth County men serving in their ranks are espe- cially mentioned in the following brief histori- cal sketches of their organization and services in the great war for the Union."
On the 15th of April, two days after the fall of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued his first call for troops, the number required being seventy-five thousand, of which number, the quota of New Jersey was four regiments of seven hundred and eighty men each,-a total of three
thousand one hundred and twenty,-to be de- tached from the militia of the State. On re- ceipt of the requisition, on the 17th, Governor Charles S. Ollen issued his proclamation di- recting all individuals or organizations willing to volunteer to report themselves within twenty days, and at the same time orders were issued to the four generals of division for each to detail one full regiment for the service, and
reserve militia. Under the orders volunteers were to be accepted for three months' service ; but if a sufficient number of these did not offer, the deficiency was to be made up by a draft from the militia. It was not, however, found necessary to adopt the latter alternative. Volunteers aggregating more than the required number were easily obtained,1 and to this force Monmouth County contributed its full propor- tion of men, being most numerously repre- sented in A Company, Captain Joseph A. Yard, and G Company, Captain Vincent W. Mount, of the Third Regiment ; though the men of Monmouth were numerous in several other companies of the three months' troops raised at that time. The field officers of the Third Regiment were Colonel William Napton, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Stephen Moore and Major James S. Yard, of Freehold, editor and proprietor of the Monmouth Democrat. Another prominent citizen of Monmouth County who was among the first to offer his services to Governor Ol- den was William S. Truex, who had seen much of actual service in the regular army, and was then lieutenant-colonel of militia. Immediately afterwards he became major of the Fifth (three years'), and later in the war was colonel of the famous Fourteenth Regiment of New Jersey, as will be mentioned in succeeding pages.
The three months' troops were raised with such expedition that on the last day of April the quota of the State was complete, and it was mustered into the State service as a brigade,
1 Within a few days over one hundred companies of volunteers-equal to ten thousand men-had offered their services under the Governor's proclamation, and even this number could have been greatly increased but for the prev- alent belief that the quota would be filled by the brigade already organized .- Foster's "New Jersey and the Rebellion."
243
MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR OF 1861-63.
under command of Brigadier-General Theodore now the capital was safe. These three thousand Runyon. On the 1st of May, Governor Olden Jerseymen, thoroughly armed and equipped,-as no regiment previously arrived had been,-could be relied on to repel all assaults. New Jersey never stood higher in the estimation of the loyal people of the country than at that june- ture, when she sent to the nation's defense the first full brigade of troops that reached the field." sent a special messenger to General B. F. Butler, then in command at AAnnapolis, Md., requesting him to prepare to receive the New Jersey brig- ade. At the same time he sent another mes- senger to Washington to notify the Secretary of War that the State authorities of New Jersey would furnish their volunteers with the neees- sary arms and aceoutrements, which the United States government was at that time unable to do. The Governor also telegraphed the War
The passage of the troops from Trenton to Annapolis, and their arrival at the latter place, were thus noticed by the National Intelligencer : Department, saying that the troops from this " " The whole brigade, with its four pieces of artil- State would move forward on the 1st, 2d and 3d of May, and asking that all possible measures be taken to insure their efficiency and promote their comfort.
A- railroad communication with Baltimore had been severed by the destruction of the bridges over Gunpowder Creek and other streams, it was decided to send the New Jersey troops forward by water, by way of Annapolis, Md. They were accordingly embarked on fourteen Delaware and Raritan Canal propellers, on the 3d of May, and proceeded down the Delaware River and through the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal and Chesapeake Bay to their destination, which was reached on the night of the 4th. "The arrival of the brigade, " says Foster, " was at once reported to General Butler, who, after some ceremony, ordered its advance to Washington, and on the 5th the First Regi- ment, with six companies of the Second and nine companies of the Third, started forward in two trains of cars. The first of these trains reached Washington about midnight, and the second at eight o'clock on the following morning. The same evening the Fourth Regi- ment and the remaining company of the Third reached the capital. The four companies of the Second left at Annapolis were detailed, by order · of General Scott, to the service of guarding the · telegraph and railroad track between Washing- ton and Annapolis Junction. On the 6th of May the arrival of the brigade was reported to General Seott, and no camp being provided, the troops went into such quarters as were available in Washington. On all sides the arrival of the troops was hailed with pleasure. Men felt that
lery, arrived at Annapolis on Sunday, May 5th, in twenty-eight hours from Trenton, and pro- ceeded direct for Washington. It is stated that the fourteen transports, with a strong convoy, Captain F. R. Loper, made a splendid appear- ance, steaming in two lines down the Chesa- peake. They had been greeted by a great Union demonstration as they passed along the Chesa- peake and Delaware Canal. They are armed with the Minie musket, but are to have the Minie rifle and sword bayonet. . . . This corps is composed of some of the best men in the State, and in athletic appearance, as well as general soldierly deportment, is a credit to the country.''
On the 9th and 10th of May the regiments of the brigade moved out from Washington to Meridian Hill, near the city, where they formed a camp, which was christened "Camp Mon- mouth." There they remained, engaged in drill and the perfecting of their discipline, until the 23d of the same month, when, in obedience to orders received from General Mansfield (com- mander of the forces around Washington), the Second, Third and Fourth Regiments1 moved from their camp at about midnight, and took the route, by way of the Long Bridge, across the Potomac, to Virginia.2 They reached the " sacred
1 The First did not move until the following day.
2 . At twelve and a quarter o'clock." said Major Yard, in a letter written soon after, describing the movement across the Potomac, "the regiment was formed on the parade- ground in silence. The moon was shining brightly and there was not a cloud in the sky. At twelve and three- quarters the order to march was given. The long lines filed slowly out of camp and down the road, their bayonets gleaming in the moonlight, and no sound save the measured tramp of nearly a [two] thousand feet. . .. Through the
244
HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
soil" at about three o'clock in the morning of the 24th ; then, proceeding more than a mile farther on the Alexandria road, halted, and after a brief rest and the making of the usual military dispositions, commenced the construction of a strong defensive work, which, after about three weeks of severe and unintermitted labor,-per- formed exclusively by the men of New Jersey, -was completed, mounted with heavy guns, and appropriately named, in honor of their brigade commander, " Fort Runyon,"-a name which continued to be applied to it until after the elose of the war.
The position of the brigade remained sub-, muster out. The First and Second received tantially unchanged until the 16th of July, the same orders on the following day, and the when a part of it was moved forward a few : four regiments of three months' men were, ac- miles, this being a part of the grand advance cordingly, mustered out of the United States service and returned to New Jersey, where they were most enthusiastically received by their fel- low-citizens. A majority of the men afterward enlisted in three years regiments, and did good service, while many of them gave their lives for their country on the battle-fields of Vir- ginia and the Southwest. on Manassas, from which the most brilliant results were expected, but which ended in the defeat and rout of the Union forces at Bull Run on the 21st of July. The Jersey brigade, however, was not actively engaged in the battle of that disastrous day, being posted at several points in the rear,1 as part of a large reserve
city, past Willard's Hotel, tramp, tramp, we went, and scarcely a soul was to be seen outside of our dark column. As we left the encampment the Second and Fourth Regiments fell in behind us. After passing Willard's, we found the Seventh New York Regiment standing in line in the street ; we passed them and presently passed a battery of flying artillery, and then a troop of cavalry, and then we came to the bridge over the Potomac. On we went, tramp, tramp, over the bridge. At ten minutes before three o'clock our feet struck the soil of old Virginia. The whole length of the bridge was guarded hy armed men, and troops lined both sides of the road for some distance after we crossed. After proceeding along the line of a railroad about two miles, we took possession of a hill, and came to a halt."
1 " Meanwhile, General Runyon had, on the 16th, seut the First Regiment of his brigade to a point occupied by our pickets, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, three miles beyond Springfield, where they acted as a guard to a party engaged in repairing the railway. On the same day four hundred and twenty-five men of the Third Regiment were detailed as an escort to a provision train en route for the main body of the body. At the same time a guard was detailed from the Fourth Regiment for another section of the railroad, which it was important to hold. Another de- tail of one company from this regiment was then guarding the Long Bridge, and still another on duty at Arlington Mills. The remainder of the regiment was ordered to pro- ceed to Alexandria, together with the Second (three months') Regiment. Colonel Taylor, commanding the Third
force commanded by General Runyon. But in the position assigned to them the several eom- mands did their whole duty, and when the day was hopelessly lost, and the Union army came flying from the field in disorganization and panie, these New Jersey regiments, stand- ing firm, aided materially in rallying the terri- fied fugitives, and so staying the tide of over- whelming disaster.
On the 24th of July, three days after the Bull Run battle, the Third and Fourth Regi- ments (their term of service having expired) were ordered to report to General Mansfield for
JOSEPH ASHTON YARD was born in the city of Trenton, N. J., on the 23d of March, 1802, in a frame house that lately stood on the west side of Greene Street, nearly opposite Academy Street. He descended, in the fourth generation, from William Yard, of the county of Devon, in England, who came to America previous to 1700, and was among the first settlers on the tract occupied by the original city of Trenton. His father, Captain Benjamin Yard, was a car- penter, not yet " out of his time," in 1789, when he built the triumphal arch under which Washington passed at his reception in Trenton, when on his way to his inauguration as first President of the United States. His mother was Priscilla Keen, daughter of John Keen, of Holmesburg, Pa., whose ancestors and the an- cestors of their connections, the Holmeses and Ashtons of that section, were descendants of the earl's Baptist emigrants from New England
(three years) Regiment, was at the same time ordered to march to a point on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad; and during the night following, the First and Second (three years) Regiments were moved forward to Vienna." -Foster's " New Jersey and the Rebellion."
MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR OF 1861-65.
245
during the persecution of that sect by the New forty hands in his employ, and finding a mar- England Puritans.
ket for his goods throughout New Jersey, and in Pennsylvania along the valley of the Dela- ware from Easton to Philadelphia.
At sixteen years of age he was about to learn his father's trade when he was thrown from a horse and sustained injuries which, for a time, In 1832 the cholera first appeared in Trenton. Of this period Hon. Franklin S. Mills writes, in incapacitated him for that business, when he commenced the study of medicine under Dr. a recent letter to the Trenton True American : James T. Clark, and attended the lectures of " Captain Yard was a gennine humanitarian, Dr. Mcclellan, of Philadelphia. About this, and never passed a sufferer without affording
Joseph .
time his brother Jacob, who was engaged in the relief. The fearful agonies of the victims of manufacture of brushes in Trenton, while on a cholera awakened the sympathies of his large heart. Without any appointment, and without compensation, himself, his workmen, his horses and wagons were all given to the work of alle- viating the suffering and burying the dead. visit to New Orleans died suddenly of yellow fever. He was then obliged, reluctantly, to give up the idea of being a physician, and, with his brother Charles, assumed the management of Jacob's business for his father, and subse- " Dr. Joseph C. Welling and Captain Yard spent most of their time at the hospital and among the sick and dying, and while his com- panion, Dr. Welling, was administering medi- quently, after his marriage, purchased it. He soon built up a large and lucrative trade for that period, at one time having as many as
246
HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
cines, Captain Yard and his men were employed in bringing into the hospital those who were suddenly seized with the disease and removing those who had already died. Kindness and sympathy for the suffering were shining quali- ties in the character of Captain Yard, and in self-sacrificing devotion to the objects of charity, and especially to the sick and those who had been strieken down by sudden misfortune, he had few equals."
He continued to prosper in business, and maintained himself and his family with credit until about the year 1835, when a money crisis caused the failure of his consignee in New York, where he had built up a large trade. This and the war between France and Russia, which interfered with the export of bristles, then principally brought from Russia, obliged him to wind up his business. He sold his tools and machinery, his dwelling and other property, and paid his creditors, and, as he ex- pressed it, he "hadn't a dollar left." At this time he had a large family to support.
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