History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 35

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224

USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 35
USA > New Jersey > Union County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 35

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HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

charge in the same manner as the first, which they did most hand- eomely. The enemy, although holding a very strong position, and having the advantage of artillery, could not stand these charges, so broke and fled up the mountain-side in grest disorder, closely pursued by our men, who drove them through the Pass and some distance in the valley on the other side, when night put an end to the pursuit.

"Too much cannot be said in praise of the bravery and gallentry of both officers and men; they certainly did credit to themselves and the State they represent. . . . The loss to the brigade has been as follows : One officer killed and nine wounded, thirty-nine non-commissioned of- ficers and privates killed, and one hundred and twenty-five wounded; total, one hundred and seventy-four."

At the first battle of Fredericksburg the brigade contained in addition to the four regiments, or what remained of them, the Fifteenth and Twenty-third New Jersey Infantry. In this action it was conspicu- ous for gallantry, the new regiments seeming to have caught the spirit of the old ones. The brigade lost in killed, wounded, and missing one hundred and twenty-two men. At Chancellorsville, Col. Brown, who commanded the brigade during the early part of the engagement, was severely wounded; Col. Cattell, . of the First Regiment, was killed in the thickest of the fight; and Col. Buck, of the Second Regiment, sustained an injury from the fall of his horse. The command therefore devolved temporarily upon Col. Penrose, of the Fifteenth New Jersey. In a congrat- ulatory order, published on the 12th of May, 1863, Col. Buck said,-

" The sad casualty to the brave Col. Brown, of the Third Regiment, having placed the brigade under my command, I cannot in justice to you or myself refrain from expressing my heartfelt thanks for the prompt and energetic manner in which you obeyed my commands. .. . You have earned for yunreelves imperishable fame, and nobly redeemed the pledge you so recently made on the receipt of your new colors, which have been gallantly borne and bravely defended, as the life-blood of the brave Col. Cattell and many others sadly testify."

The following incident of the brigade is related in connection with the battle of Winchester :

"Our brigade of nine hundred men and one regiment of cavalry, the Third New Jersey, sustained the shock of an overwhelming force, esti- mated at five thousand. The enemy attacked with three lines of battle. Onr men were deployed Rs skirmisher's, fifteen feet apart. They would lie down behind a wall, waiting the enemy's approach, and fire to check him as much as possible. Then, at the order to retire, they would run to the next place of shelter, whether stone wall, hill, or tree, and wait the rebel approach agsin, give them some deadly volleys, and again re- tire. This mode of fighting was kept up till Winchester was reached and passed. While passing through the town many of our men were shot down by the citizens, who fired from the windows of the houses. In the darkness it was impossible always to tell friend from fee. Once Col. Campbell found himself in the midst of n number of men pressing rap- idly forward, or, as he supposed, hurrying away to the rear. He was on the point of halting them and calling themu to rally at a point in a little graveyard when an ontcry from one of them proved that they were rebels. Turning an angle in the wall, where he could be shielded from their fire, he left them in baste. A soldier came among our men, and

The regiment was raised under an authorization from the War Department to recruit a regiment of riflemen in the State of New Jersey. Its recruit- ment was begnn in September, 1861, and the first they demanded, ' Who are yon?' to which he answered, 'I belong to . muster was made at Camp Olden, Trenton, on the Breckenridge's division.' They said, 'Lay down your arms,' but the fellow cried, 'I am a reb!' 'Very well,' said our boys, 'but we are Yanks'; and through all the confusion of the night some held fast to him, and in the morning delivered him up a prisoner of war." 1

At the surrender of Lee, on the memorable 9th of April, 1865, the brigade was not far from Appomat- tox Court- House. The news was received with dem- onstrations of the wildest enthusiasm. The fighting

was ended, the Union cause victorious, and now all looked for a speedy discharge. A long and weary march, however, was before the brigade, it being or- dered to Danville instead of to Washington.

On the 24th of May it marched through Richmond on its way homeward, going into camp at Georgetown on the 2d of June. It was soon mustered out, and returned to Trenton, N. J.

Mr. Foster, in his " New Jersey and the Rebellion," thus closes his elaborate history of the brigade :

"On n score of fields it had exhibited the rarest heroism. In disci- pline, in sturdy, faultlees courage, in unwavering and sublime devotion, it justified, down to the latest field, the high expectations of that knightly soldier who made it what it was. Tried in many a fierce and pitiless fire, it had never faltered. Exposed sometimes to peculiar hardships, thinned by disease, weakened by heavy loss, it never for an hour lost its faith in the canse. The hospital devoured and the trench swallowed up many of its bravest and best, but the First Brigade, even when but a remnant of its strength remained, was still undannted. No danger &p- pslled, no privation dismayed, no loss disheartened the veterans, who with a lofty pride fought and died for freedom's sake. When at last, with toro standards and lean ranks, it marched from the field where it had helped to achieve an honorable peace, it wns welcomed home with right royni greeting, the people bailing it with glad acclaim, and with it rejoicing that the sound of war had ceased from the land. To-day scattered in all the walks of life, those of its members who yet survive perform the old duties and bear the old burdens familiar before they were marched afield ; but their proudest boast is that once they fought with Kearney and the grand old Army of the Potomac for the flag which to him and to them was dearer than all things else."

CHAPTER XXII.

UNION COUNTY IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. ( Continued.)

Ninth Regiment .- The Ninth Regiment contained two companies, G and K, from Union County. They were officered as follows : Company G, Captain, John P. Ritter ; First Lieutenant, William Zimmerman : Second Lieutenant, William Benton. Company K, Captain, Elias J. Drake; First Lieutenant, W. B. S. Boudinot; Second Lieutenant, Jonathan Townley, Jr. Joseph W. Allen was colonel of the regiment; C. A. Heckman, major; Francis S. Weller, surgeon ; Louis Braun, assistant surgeon ; Abram Zabriskie, adjutant; Samuel Keyes, quartermaster; Thomas Drumm, chap- Jain.

5th of October. The regiment was soon filled to the maximum, and remained at camp, engaged in con- tinuous drill, until the 4th of December, when it pro- ceeded to Washington, D. C., having upon its rolls an aggregate of one thousand one hundred and forty- two men. It was armed with Springfield rifles, and more fully and splendidly equipped than any regi- ment which up to that time had left the State.

Without going too much into particulars, it may

1 Chaplain Haines' Notes.

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UNION COUNTY IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

be said that the regiment on its arrival in Wash- ington went into camp on the Bladensburg turnpike, where it remained until Jan. 4, 1862, when it pro- ceeded by rail to Annapolis, where a large portion of the troops composing Burnside's expedition to North Carolina had already assembled. Here the regiment was assigned to the brigade of Gen. Jesse L. Reno, and embarked on the 10th for Fortress Monroe, whence, on the 12th, sail was made towards the point of destination at Hatteras Inlet. Soon after arriving off the inlet a violent storm arose, the wind blowing fiercely on shore and imperiling the lives of all on board, which would probably have been lost but for the enterprise and daring of a member of the regi- ment from this county, Corp. Samuel J. Dilkes, of Company K. The historian of the regiment gives the following account of the disaster :

" Extra anchors were cast, but even this precaution did not avail to save several vessels of the fleet, which were drifted ashore and hecame tetal wrecks. The steamer ' City of New York,' laden with ammunition, foundered at the meuth of the inlet, while the 'Connecticut' was sunk inside the bar. The steamer ' Pocahontas,' laden with horses, on the passage down was driven ashera in the gale, its engines having become nomanageable, and but fer the gallantry of Cerp. Samuel J. Dilkes, ef Company K, Ninth Regiment, the livesof all on board might have been Jest. Dilkes bravely swimming ashore with a repa, fastened it securely by means of a stake driven firmly inte the sand, and se enabled the crew to reach the land in safety. The cook, an aged celored woman, being unable in this way to escape, Dilkes, with a heroism which filled all be- heldere with admiration, returned te the ship, new rapidly geing te pieces, and bieding the frightened woman to his person leaped into the sea, and by almost superhuman exertiens succeeded in safety reaching the shere, where he was hailed hy his comrades with deserved and the utmest enthusiasm.

"On the following day, the 15th, the sea having semewhat calmed, Col. Allen, Lient .- Col. Heckman, Surg. Weller, Adjt. Zabriskie, Bed Quarter- master Keyes preceedad in the gig ef the captain of the ship ' Ann E. Thompsen' te the shore, fer the purpose of reporting te Gee. Burnside. The gig was manned by a picked craw, in charge of the captain, and coe- tained twelve persons in all. Having ceacluded their interview with the general-in-chief, the party returned to their boat, which was rewed swiftly and safely towards the ship until the breakers just outside the inlat were reached, when suddenly a heavy sea, or water-spout, burst over the bow, sweeping to the stern, nashipping the ears, and occasien- log the greatest censternatien among the passengers. Befere the beat could be righted a second and strenger wave struck it from beneath, hurling it some distance in the air and precipitating all its eccupants into the sea. The situation was fearful indeed, and the struggle with the seething waters desperate in the last degree. With great difficulty the beat was reached by several of the party and efforts made to right it ; but this was suun found te be impossible. ... Lieut .- Cel. Heckman end Adjt. Zabriskie, being expert swimmers, finding that Col. Allen and Surgeon Weller were ie greater danger than ethers, made several heroic attempts te save their lives, but all were unsuccessful, these efficers, bravely struggling to the last, going down into the watery depths. By this time the capsized boat was drifting rapidly seaward, but the lieu- tenant-colenel and adjutant finally succeeded in raising au oar, having fastened thereen a sailor's shirt, which signal heing shortly afterwards discovered the alarm was given, and the steamer 'Patuxeut' at ence hastened to give assistance. Se overcome were the survivers by their exertiens that upon reaching the decks of the steamer some of them Balık into insensibility, Lient .- Col. Heckman remaining in a state of prostration for several days. The bodies of Col. Allen, Dr. Weller, Red the secend mate, whe was alse drowned, were recovered during the day, and every effort made to resuscitate them, but entirely without avail."

Suffolk, Va. Adjt. Zabriskie then became colonel, and held the command until he fell mortally wounded at Drury's Bluff, May 16, 1864. Lieut .- Col. James Stewart, Jr., then commanded the regiment till the close of the war.

The operations of the regiment were confined to the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. On the 18th of November, 1862, in com- pliance with an order from the War Department, the regiment was reduced from twelve to ten companies, A and L being disbanded, and the enlisted men trans- ferred to other companies of the regiment. Company M was designated Company A. In January, 1864, a majority of the regiment re-enlisted in the field, and being entitled to a veteran furlough, visited their homes in New Jersey, returning again to the service on the 15th of March. Those who did not re-enlist, and whose terms of service had expired, were mus- tered out at Trenton, Dec. 7, 1864. The regiment maintained its organization till the close of the war, being strengthened from time to time during 1863, '64, and '65 by recruits from the draft rendezvous at Trenton. It participated in the following engage- ments :

Roanoke Island, N. C., Feb. 8, 1862; Newberne, N. C., March 14, 1862; Fort Macon, N. C., April 25, 1862; Young's Cross-Roads, N. C., July 27, 1862; Rowell's Mills, N. C., Nov. 2, 1862 ; Deep Creek, N. C., Dec. 12, 1862; Southwest Creek, N. C., Dec. 13, 1862; before Kinston, N. C., Dec. 13, 1862; Kinston, N. C., Dec. 14, 1862 ; Whitehall, N. C., Dec. 16, 1862; Golds- boro', N. C., Dec. 17, 1862; Comfort Bridge, N. C., July 6, 1863; near Winton, N. C., July 26, 1863; Deep Creek, Va., Feb. 7, 1864; Deep Creek, Va., March 1, 1864; Cherry Grove, Va., April 14, 1864; Port Whitehall, Va., May 6 and 7, 1864; Procter's, Va., May 8, 1864; Swift Creek, Va., May 9 and 10, 1864; Drury's Bluff, Va., May 12 to 16, 1864; Cold Harbor, Va., June 3 to 12, 1864; Free Bridge, Va., June 16, 1864; before Petersburg, Va., June 20 to Ang. 24, 1864; Gardner's Bridge, N. C., Dec. 9, 1864; Foster's Bridge, N. C., Dec. 10, 1864; Butler's Bridge, N. C., Dec. 11, 1864; Southwest Creek, N. C., March 7, 1865; Wise's Fork, N. C., March 8, 9, and 10, 1865 ; Goldsborongh, N. C., March 21, 1865.

The Ninth Regiment received great credit for their gallant and successful operations in a swamp during the action at Roanoke Island, which is believed to have secured the great success of the day by enabling I our army to operate successfully upon the enemy's flank. Foster speaks of their conduct as being " from first to last in the highest degree courageous." Gen. Burnside promulgated an order on the 10th of Febru- ary that the Ninth Regiment should have the words " Roanoke Island, February 8, 1862," emblazoned on their banners in compliment for their gallantry on that day. The only ordnance which could be brought to bear upon the enemy, owing to the deep morass

Upon the sad and untimely death of Col. Allen, Lieut .- Col. Heckman took command of the regiment, and remained in command until Jan. 16, 1864, when he was appointed to the command of the district of which our troops traversed and the almost impen-

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HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

etrable thickets, was a small rifled cannon, manned altogether by men detailed from the Ninth. Besides, the gunboat which did most execution npon the fort had her guns manned by Jerseymen detailed from the Ninth. "On the 10th," says the Newark Daily Advertiser, " this detail asked to be sent back to their regiment, but the commodore replied that 'the Jer- sey Blues' had shown themselves too good managers of the big guns to allow him to part with them; that they were true Blues, and no mistake."

One Jerseyman, who had been wonnded by a bullet through the head, said it was not much, and walked alone back to the hospital tent, as he said, " to get something to keep the blood out of his eyes, when he would come back to his company." The poor fellow fell just as he got to the tent.

Testimony as to the gallantry of this regiment in dif- ferent engagements might be multiplied to almost any extent. The New York Tribune, speaking of the bat- tle of Newberne, says,-

" In the capture of Newberne the Ninth New Jersey Regiment sus- tained the honor of their State with characteristic gallantry. Though their position in that brilliant engagement was one of great exposure, they bore themselves through the conflict like veterans, suffering more severely than any other regiment on the field. Out of a total loss of three hundred and sixty-four killed and wounded they lost sixty-two, or one-sixth of the whole, although twelve regiments were in the battle. . drawn. New Jersey will ever be proud of the achieve- Bravo for the Jersey Bines !"

Private Thomas Macquaid, of Elizabeth, was struck by a spent ball on the shoulder, and tumbled down ; but when being carried back he suddenly broke away and said, " Let me take off my coat and see that first," and finding the shoulder much swollen he went on a few steps, and concluded to "take another look," when he said he guessed he'd take a few more shots, came back, and fought bravely till the victory was won. Sergt. Joseph Wright was shot through the shoulder, and sat down in his place a moment, and then slowly turned to his commander, saying, very coolly, almost dryly, "Captain, I am wounded." That officer, find- ing his company pretty well cut up, and not wishing to send back more men with the wounded than was absolutely necessary, asked if he was much hurt. He didn't know, he said, but thought he would let the surgeon see, and had gone some distance, when he came back and requested of the captain that he might take his rifle with him.

On the 24th of December, 1862, the regiment was made the recipient of a beautiful stand of colors, costing seven hundred dollars, presented by the Leg- islature of New Jersey, accompanied by the following resolutions passed by that body :

" Resolved, That the Ninth Regiment of New Jersey Volunteers, by their patient endurance under privation and fatigue, and by their courage at the ever-to-be-remembered battles of Roanoke and Newberne (a courage evinced by the havoc made in their own unwavering columns better than by the reports of partial journals), have sustained the high reputation which since the days of the Revolution hus belonged to the soldiers of New Jersey, and as evidence of our appreciation of that arme of every Dianly virtne, ' patriotic devotion to country.' the Governor of the State si requested to have prepared und forwarded to said regiment a standard,

on which shall be inscribed these words: 'Presented by New Jersey to her Ninth Regiment in remembrance of Roanoke and Newberne.'

" Resolved, That Col. Charles A. Heckman, who so gallantly led his well-ordered meu to the conthet, is requested, at the proper time, to report to the clerk of the House of Assembly the names of those who fell, killed or mortally wounded, on either of the said battle-fields; and that the clerk of the House is, by virtue of this resolution, ordered to enter their Dames, with the place where they fell, on the minutes of the Assembly of New Jersey, as men who have fallen in defense of the best govern- ment of the world.

" Resolved, That New Jersey Jooks with pride upon her soldiers in the field, without exception or distinction, and is prepared to honor them; and while extending congratulations that the occasion has not yet oc- curred when they have been put to flight by an enemy, entertains entire confidence that such occasion will never be recognized by them.

" Resolved, That New Jersey highly appreciates the disinterested fidelity of Brig .- Gen. Philip Kearney in declining proffered promotion rather than separate himself from the command of Jerseymen to him intrusted.

" Resolved, That with the families, relatives, and friends of those mem- bers of the Ninth Regiment who, on the 14th of March, met death in that form most courted by the true soldier, on the battle-field with their faces to the foe, we most deeply sympathize and sincerely condole.

" Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be forwarded to the gen- erals and colonels commamling the New Jersey troops."

We regret that we have not space for fuller and more consecutive details of the operations of this regi- ment. Those who desire a more complete history will find it in Foster's excellent work, " New Jersey and the Rebellion," from which much of our infor- mation relating to this and other regiments has been

ments of her Ninth Regiment. "Its story," says Mr. Foster, "is the story of the war; its eulogy its own great deeds. During its term of service it participated in forty-two battles and engagements, and traveled by rail and on foot a distance of seven thousand six hundred and forty-two miles, making while in North Carolina some of the most remarkable marches on record. Entering the service with one thousand one hundred and forty-two men, and at varions times strengthened by recruits, the mean strength of the regiment when mustered out was only six hundred men. Eight officers offered their lives a sacrifice on the nation's altar, while twenty-three received wounds in battle, most of them of a serious nature. Sixty- one enlisted men were killed in battle, and four hun- dred wounded. Forty-three men died from wounds, and one hundred from disease. The total loss of the regiment from all causes was sixteen hundred and forty-six men. No fact could more strikingly ex- hibit the consuming nature of the campaigns in which the regiment participated than this, clearly authenti- cated by official reports. The entire number of men and officers taken prisoners was about one hundred and thirty, forty-seven of this number dying while in the hands of the enemy."

CAPT. JONATHAN TOWNLEY, the subject of this biographical sketch, is the grandson of Capt. Jona- than Townley, who enjoyed the distinction of having been a captain at an early period in the State militia. Among his children was John M., born in 1801, and married to Miss Eveline Cooper. The birth of their son Jonathan occurred Dee. 14, 1833, in the township of Union, where his early life was spent in studies

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UNION COUNTY IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

preliminary to entering Princeton College, where his graduation took place in 1858. He found congenial employment in the labors of an instructor, and con- tinued them until the year 1861, which developed the : Company B, Capt. William H. Meeker; First Lieu- tenant, Lott Bloomfield; Second Lientenant, Alex- ander Beach, Jr. Company D, Captain, Luther Martin ; First Lieutenant, Sydney M. Layton; Sec- ond Lieutenant, James H. Carr.

civil war. Being imbued with the spirit of patriotism he enlisted in Company K, Ninth Regiment New Jer- sey Volunteers, and began his military career as

You. Townley.

second lieutenant. He was, March 9, 1862, promoted to a first lieutenancy, and March 4, 1864, received his commission as captain. He was wounded at Newberne, N. C., on the 14th of March, 1862, and again before Richmond, May 14, 1864.

Capt. Townley participated during the year 1862 in the battles of Roanoke Island, Newberne. Fort Macon, Young's Cross-Roads, Rowell's Mills, Deep Creek, Southwest Creek, Kinston, Whitehall, and Golds- borongh Bridge. In 1863 he was in engagements at Comfort's Bridge, near Winton, and in 1864 at Deep Creek, Port Walthall, Swift Creek, Drury's Bluff, and was before Petersburg from June 20th until August 24th of that year. His discharge was obtained Feb. 4, 1865, when he retired again to civil life, and has since devoted himself to agricultural employments.

Capt. Townley is in his political preferences a Re- publican, the platform and principles of the party having been espoused by him, not from motives of policy, but from earnest conviction.

lle at all times lends a willing hand to all projects having for their aim the advancement of both educa- tion and morality, and may justly be regarded as one of the most useful citizens of the township of Union.

Eleventh Regiment .- This county furnished two companies of men in the Eleventh Regiment, viz., Companies B and D, with the following officers :

Robert McAllister, who had been lieutenant-col- onel of the First Regiment, and who subsequently be- came brigadier-general, and finally major-general by brevet, was commissioned colonel of the Eleventh Regiment on the 30th of June, 1862, and on the 25th of August following the regiment left for Washing- ton ; was assigned to duty in that department until November 16th, then attached to the brigade of Gen. Carr, Sickles' division, at Fairfax Court-House, whence, on the 18th, it proceeded to Falmouth, where Gen. Burnside was concentrating his forces prepara- tory to his famous attack on Fredericksburg. The first initiation of the regiment into actual war was in that merciless slaughter, wherein thousands of Union soldiers, hurled recklessly against the impregnable batteries of the enemy, bristling the heights for miles in extent, were uselessly sacrificed. "On the morn- ing of the 14th," says the historian, "the Eleventh crossed the river under orders of Gen. Carr, and took position in the second line of battle, being shortly afterwards sent forward to the front line to relieve the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, two companies being dispatched to take the place of the pickets of the regiment thus relieved. These companies, with others that were afterwards sent in under a galling picket-fire, behaved with the greatest steadiness. While thus engaged the regiment sustained a loss of two enlisted men killed, four wounded, and six mis- sing. On the 15th the regiment recrossed the river to its old position, and soon after returned to its former camp near Falmouth, Gen. Burnside having wisely abandoned, upon the remonstrance of Gen. Sumner and others, all thought of a second assault, and directed the withdrawal of the entire army from the south side of the river."

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History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 35

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts Number of Pages: 1224

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224