USA > New Jersey > History of the men of Co. F, with description of the marches and battles of the 12th New Jersey Vols. Dedicated to "our dead." > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22
Of his service with this regiment many still living speak in grateful terms and with grateful hearts of the valuable services he rendered. He was constantly with the regiment from the time it left Woodbury till its muster out, with the exception of a short time that he served as Brigade Surgeon. Dr. Satter- thwait was one of the many able men who filled the position of surgeon1. He was a bold and skillful operator, though very conservative. His constant aim was to preserve the limbs of the wounded from amputation if it were at all possible, and many a wounded hero has now all his limbs when a less con- servative surgeon would have removed them. He was a man of strong likings, impulsive, but as gentle as a child ; quick to see his duty, and fearless in doing it. He was anxious to pro- vide every possible comfort for the sick in hospital, and ever attentive to the many calls upon his skill, whether in camp, or on the march, or in time of action. The writer would like to make an extended memoir of him, but space will not permit.
When mustered out of the service he settled at Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, N. Y., where he continued in the prac- tice of medicine till he was seized with his fatal illness in IS72.
12
178
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
He was taken with rheumatism, which settled in the hip and finally affected the heart, and caused his death at the early age of thirty-six years, just in the prime of life, when all was hopeful and encouraging in his surroundings. He was one of the many thousands whose early death is attributed to the ex- posures and privations of a soldier's life. He left a widow and two daughters, who still reside at the home on Staten Island. In conclusion, it can be said of Dr. Satterthwait, that he was a thoroughly self-made man, had little or no assistance to ob- tain the positions he held, a most convincing proof of the sterling worth of the man.
RICHARD S. THOMPSON.
'Colonel Richard S. Thompson was born at Cape May Court House, Cape May county, N. J., December 27, 1837. At thir- teen years of age he entered the Norristown Academy, Penn- sylvania, and from that time until he volunteered in the ser- vice of his country he pursued the life of a student, graduating from the law department of Harvard College in 1861, and being admitted to the Philadelphia bar in the spring of 1862. He was a member of Captain Biddle's Artillery Company, of Philadelphia, for about one year. In August, 1862, he en- listed a full company in twelve days in Cumberland county, N. J., and with it joined the Twelfth New Jersey Volunteers. at Woodbury, as Company K, with which company he en- tered the service as captain. When in September, 1862, this regiment was stationed at Ellicott's Mills, Md., Captain Thomp- son was appointed Assistant Provost-Marshal under General Wool. On February 16, 1863, after the regiment had joined the Army of the Potomac, on the Rappahannock above Fal- mouth, Captain Thompson was appointed Judge Advocate of a Division Court Martial. He was promoted to Major of the regiment on February 25, 1864, and to Lieutenant-Colonel on July 2, 1864. He took part in the following general engage- inents with the regiment : Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Fall- ing Water, Auburn Mills, Bristoe Station, Blackburn's Ford, Robinson's Tavern, Mine Run, Deep Bottom, north bank of
179
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
James River, Reams Station. In the last named battle, on August 25, 1864, he was twice wounded, once in the hand and later in the side, from which he did not recover until in May, 1865. On July 3, 1863, at Gettysburg, he commanded the charge on the Bliss Barn, made by companies A, C, D, F and K, of the Twelfth New Jersey Volunteers. June 11, 1864, he was placed in command of a provisional battalion at Alex- andria, Va., with which he reported to General Butler, at Ber- muda Hundreds. He rejoined his own regiment June 28, 1864. August 20, 1864, Colonel Thompson was made officer of the day by General Hancock, on the north bank of the James River, where he was left in command of the corps pickets and skirmishers during the withdrawal of the troops to the south side of the river. For his services on this occa- sion he received an autograph letter from General Hancock, complimenting him for the manner in which he performed the duty assigned to him. In December, 1864, while still on crutches, Colonel Thompson was appointed president of a gen- eral court martial at Philadelphia for the trial of officers, in which service he continued until he tendered his resignation on the ground that being unfit for active duty, he felt that those who were in the field performing his duties were entitled to promotion. February 17, 1865, he was honorably dis- charged by reason of wounds received in battle. Colonel Thompson commanded his regiment for a long time as captain and he also commanded it as major. June 7, 1865, he mar- ried Miss Catherine Scovel, daughter of the Rev. Alden Scovel, and in October of that year settled in Chicago, Ill., where he entered the practice of law, in which he is still engaged. In 1869 he was appointed Corporation Counsel of the village of Hyde Park, then a suburb of Chicago, and now a part of the city, which position he held until 1875, when he was appointed counsel of the South Park Commissioners, serving until ISSo. In 1872, as Republican candidate, he was elected a member of the Illinois Senate for four years. As Senator of the Second District of Illinois he became known throughout the State as an able parliamentarian, and on several occasions the press throughout the State declared him as able a parliamentarian
.
ISO
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
as had ever occupied a seat in the Illinois Legislature. Col- onel Thompson is a member of the Illinois Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Western Society of the Army of the Potomac. He ranks among the leading members of the Chicago Bar.
HENRY F. CHEW,
The subject of this sketch, was born December 8, 1837. in Claysville, now a part of the city of Salem, N. J., where he spent the earlier years of his life in attendance at the Quaker school of that city. He early gave evidence of a desire for a military life, but the vigorous objection of his parents caused him to turn to the more peaceful occupation of a wheelwright, at which he became very proficient; but in 1860, when the talk of war and secession began to assume reality, those staunch young patriots of Salem could no longer be restrained, but or- ganized a militia company called the "Johnson Guards," in honor of our first colonel, who was one of their leading spirits.
H. F. Chew was their orderly sergeant, and on the breaking out of the rebellion, and President Lincoln's first call for sex- enty-five thousand volunteers for three months, they promptly tendered their services to Governor Olden; were immediately accepted, and became Company I, of the Fourth New Jersey Volunteer Militia. They rendezvoused at Trenton, and were mustered into the United States service April 27, 1861, only eight days after the firing on Fort Sumter. Sergeant Chew was commissioned ensign (now obsolete), a sort of combina- tion of second lieutenant and right general guide of the con- pany. May 14th, he was promoted first lieutenant of the same company, and mustered out July 31, 1861, by reason of expiration of term, without being in any battle.
But in no ways discouraged by this first attempt, he imme- diately began recruiting, and on the Sth day of October, lie re- ported at Trenton with another full company, and was mustered in for three years as Captain of Company I, Ninth New Jersey Volunteers. He was sent with the regiment on the Burnside expedition, and participated in that terrible battle on Roanoke
-
18I
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
Island, February 8, 1862, where they suffered great loss and won bright laurels by their unflinching bravery; but the hard- ships and exposures of that winter campaign in the mud and swamps of North Carolina brought on a slow fever, with great debility, so that our captain was compelled to resign his com- mission and accept a discharge, March 9, 1862. But after a few months of careful nursing, that indomitable spirit of loy- alty and patriotism again asserted itself, and in July, 1862, we find him again recruiting (for the third time his favorite letter) Company I, of the Twelfth Regiment, of which he was com- missioned captain August 16, 1862; and from that time for- ward he was a prominent part and factor in all our camps and marches, our hardships and glories, until that terrible struggle in the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, where he was severely wounded and forced to retire to the hospitals of Washington for repairs; but in a few weeks he returned to duty with the regiment, now in the trenches of Petersburg, where his bravery and ability soon won recognition, being promoted Major July 2, 1864, and came into the command of the regiment at Reams Station, August 24th (the story of which is told elsewhere) by reason of the painful wounds of our Lieutenant-Colonel, R. S. Thompson. And ever after he bravely and carefully led us, through that long and trying siege, where "Mortar shells in sparkling flight, en- livened many a dreary night;" that brief winter camp, with its cold, stormy days of guard and picket, its continual alarms, advances and skirmishes along the banks of Hatchers Run; always with us in body and spirit; he shared our hardships, joys and triumphs: sympathetic with our wounds and suffer- ings; always gentle and tender as a father; never profane, never harsh and never rash: always approachable, and thought- ful of the feelings and comfort of his boys; he commanded by love and respect, not by fear; he always led, never drove; and no matter how hard or dangerous the duty, we knew he shared our own feelings, and his commands were our pleasure to obey. He was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel February 23, 1865 (vice R. S. Thompson, discharged for wounds received at Reams Station), and bravely led us through that exciting, yet trium- phant, early spring campaign, when that grand old Army of
.. .
182
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
the Potomac would no longer be restrained, but rose up in all its glorious majesty and power, brushed back the hitherto in- vincible cohorts of treason and secession, and like a mighty wave of old ocean, that intricate chain of ditches, earthworks, forts and redoubts went down before our grand assaults like a row of bricks in childish play; while that haughty old arch- traitor, Davis deserted his capital, his army, his home, his reputation, if he had any, to seek his own personal safety in flight-and female clothing-leaving Lee and his brave veter- ans the victims of that thrilling chase which ended at Appo- mattox, April 9, 1865, where our gallant leader took his full share of the enjoyment, satisfaction and wild delirium of that happy day. He led us back to Washington, through that grand review, and then to Trenton, where with us he shed the name and clothes of soldier and took on those of citizen. After the war, he took up the profession of dentistry in Camden, N. J., where he now resides. May his bright, cheery manner and genial hand-clasp long remain to greet and cheer his old comrades, who proudly seek his presence and ever hold him in warm remembrance, a central figure and guiding star of those proud and stirring times of long ago.
JOSEPH BURROUGHS, COMPANY A,
Was born May 19, 1839, in Pittsgrove, Salem county, N. J., and was the son of a farmer. His opportunities for receiving an education were quite limited, being confined to the winter term of the public schools, and then often having to lose time from school in order to assist in such farmi work as the season would admit. He continued to live with his father and as- sist in the work of the farm until he enlisted. During the first year of the war, while greatly interested in the success of the Union cause, and thinking, like many others, that one summer's campaign would finish the war and bring success to the government, he did not seriously contemplate enlisting, but upon the call of President Lincoln on July 7, 1862, for three hundred thousand volunteers, to serve for three years or during the war, he began to think the government would need
183
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
his services, and in the latter part of July of that year decided to make one of the new regiment then forming in South Jer- sey. A young companion from an adjoining farm ( John W. Edwards, killed at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864), also decided at this time to enlist, and together they went to Salem to con- fer with S. S. Chase, who had been designated as Captain of Company A. Returning home, they called a meeting of those desiring to enlist, and within a few days quite a number of young men of the neighborhood caught the infection, and much enthusiasm was manifested. Early in August the time for going into camp at Woodbury was set, and on the day of departure it was found that twenty-four young men of that neighborhood had executed enlistment papers. On the morn- ing of August 11, 1862, the Pittsgrove contingent left for camp, and was there met by recruits from Salem, Woodstown and Camden, and a full company was enlisted in a day or two. Burroughs was appointed fifth sergeant and promoted to first sergeant after the battle of Gettysburg. He was with the regi- ment in every engagement in which it participated (until wounded), and was never absent except on a ten-days furlough at Falmouth ; was never off duty on account of sickness more than two or three days.
At the battle of Gettysburg he was struck on the shoulder by a bullet or buckshot, causing the blood to flow freely, but was not serious enough to disable him. After the battle of Spottsylvania he was in command of his company, the morn- ing and monthly reports for May being signed by him as "First Sergeant, commanding company," the commissioned officers all being absent, sick or wounded. The battle of Cold Harbor was fought, or rather the charge was made early on the morning of June 3, 1864. The enemy's position was found to be well nigh impregnable, and after a disastrous attempt to take it, the Federal lines retired to the edge of a woods and threw up an earthwork, behind which they remained several days. Sergeant Burroughs relates a somewhat thrilling ex- perience of his on the day before he was wounded, viz .: The lines here were but about three hundred yards apart, and mor- tar batteries were used, owing to the close proximity of the
184
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
two armies. The rebels had a redoubt in front of their line, in which was one of these batteries, and in front of the Federal line were rifle pits for sharp-shooters-a small hole dug in the ground, the earth being piled up in front, with brush stuck in to more effectually conceal the occupant. The rifle was loaded and laid on the earth ready for action. On the appearance of a "Johnny " jumping over the earthwork and running to the redoubt, the sharp-shooter, ever on the alert, would fire, and without removing or reloading the rifle, fall down in the pit, when instantly a bullet from the enemy would scatter earth from the pile in front, over the hidden soldier. About noon, June 4th, while Burroughs and others were eating dinner, Samuel Mattson, Jr., of Company I, came along and spoke of the fun he had enjoyed in the pits during the morning ; and, being tired of nothing to do, Burroughs decided to take a hand in the rifle pits, and borrowing a rifle of one of the adjoining regiments in place of his buck and ball musket, passed out to the skirmish line. And what a shock ! there lay young Mattson dying, a bullet having gone through his head. And there during all that hot afternoon, in a pit about three by six feet, and too shallow to stand upright, were three soldiers- himself, the sharp-shooter and the dying boy. After dark he was carried back to the line, and lingered for several hours, but he was never conscious after being struck. On the follow- ing morning (Sunday) Sergeant Burroughs, while preparing his breakfast, was shot through the right hand by one of the rebel sharp-shooters. He immediately went to the rear, and on arrival at the field hospital the second finger was amputated by Dr. Satterthwait, and he, with other wounded, was placed in an army wagon and taken to White House Landing, and thence by steamer, reaching Washington on the morning of June 8th, and was tratisferred to one of the tent-wards of Columbia College Hospital. At the time of receiving the wound he was in high spirits, thinking it a matter of but a few weeks when he would recover and rejoin the regiment, but it proved much- more serious, being eight months in healing, and resulted in total disability for further service. On the 13th of February, 1865, he was discharged from the army. A few days later,
185
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
through the influence of Henry Bradshaw, of Woodbury, N. J., then in the departmental service of the government, who had made the acquaintance of the soldier while ministering to the wounded Jerseymen in the hospitals, he received an ap- pointment as clerk in the War Department, where, after three years' service, he was discharged on a necessary reduction of the force. He then obtained an appointment in the Census Office, from which he resigned in one year to accept a clerk- ship in the Postoffice Department, where he still remains, hav- ing by strict attention to duty acquired a thorough knowledge of the work assigned him, and gradually worked his way up to a most important position in that department.
JACOB H. YEARICKS, CO. A,
Was born in Woodbury, December 29, 1835, but very soon after this his parents moved to Sandtown, N. J. (now Mount Royal), where his boyhood years were spent at hard work, without much chance for a scholastic education, but rather a practical one, with a few weeks each winter in the school at Sandtown, or Clarksboro, when not engaged in helping his father at ditching, digging wells, or other hard work. He enlisted on August 9, 1862, as a private in Company A, Twelfth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, and ever after was a part and parcel of that grand old company. The hardships and privations of a soldier had no terrors for him. Young, strong, self-reliant, he cheerfully took his share of duty or grub. Al- ways in good health, though sightly troubled with rheumatism at Falmouth, he bravely kept his place, and passed unscathed through all our battles, with only a slight wound in the leg at Mortons Ford and a bullet through his cartridge-box at Spott- sylvania. He was right at the front through all that long siege of Petersburg, and yelled and swung his cap when we downed old Lee at Appomattox. "One of the men" faithful, brave and true, for of such was Company A. Since the war he has lived at Woodbury, always a workingman, was constable six years, and watchman at G. G. Green's, but the past two years has been badly crippled with rheumatism and unable to work.
7
186
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers. DAVID B. ELWELL, CO. A,
The subject of this sketch, was born near Woodstown, Salem county, N. J., on the 11th day of June, 1839. His father was a farmer, and his boyhood days were spent in working on the farm in summer time and attending the country school about three months during the winter. In the spring of 1855 his father moved to Upper Pittsgrove township, Salem county, where young David finished his education in the same manner in which he had commenced it. When about twenty years of age he began teaching the public school during the winter time and working on the farm in summer, until the breaking out of the war, when he felt that the country needed his help worse than the "young ideas" of Salem county did, consequently, on the 11th day of August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company A (Captain Chase), Twelfth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, went with his regiment to Maryland, from thence to Washington, and on to Virginia, joining the Army of the Potomac just after the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg ; spent the winter of 1862-63 with the regiment at Falmouth, Va., marched with the regiment to Chancellorsville, where, on the 3d of May, 1863, he was severely wounded in the head, and left on the field for dead ; but regaining consciousness soon after, managed to work his way to the rear, and was picked up by an army wagon and taken to the hospital at Potomac Creek, where he remained a short time ; was then sent on to Washington, D. C., and from thence to Wilmington, Del. He remained in the hospital at Wilmington until September, 1864, when at his own request he was returned to his regiment, al- though the surgeons in the hospital claimed that he was unfit for field duty. He rejoined his regiment in front of Peters- burg, Va., on the .27th of September, 1864, and participated in all the battles it was in from that time until the surrender of Lee in April, 1865, and was mustered out with the regiment in June, 1865. After returning home he resumed his former oc- cupation of farming and teaching, alternately, until February, 1888, when the Merchants Bank of Atlantic City opened a branch bank in Elmer, and Mr. Elwell was selected as' man-
.
187
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
ager, and remained in that position until 1890, when the main bank failed, which, of course, closed all the branches. After that he opened a grocery store in Elmer and is still in that business. In October, 1866, Mr. Elwell married Eliza Gardi- ner, of Unionville, Gloucester county, and has had seven chil- dren (three sons and four daughters), six of whom are still living, the youngest being about thirteen years old. He has always been a staunch Republican and has held several im- portant township and borough offices, and is at present an ap- plicant for the postoffice at Elmer; but as government appoint- ments are like showers, falling equally upon the just and un- just, it remains to be seen who will be the fortunate one. That Chancellorsville bullet still remains in his head, notwithstand- ing the many efforts of the surgeons, who failed to locate it, and all his comrades believe that Dave " has something in his head."
BARCLAY GAUNT, CO. A,
The comrade of this sketch, came from good old Quaker stock ; his father, Samuel Gaunt, a noted Quaker, lived on a farm at Mullica Hill, where he brought up a large family of children, amongst them Barclay, who was born April 1, 1838, and en- joyed himself through boyhood's years by working on the farm and going to school at that place ; a happy, peaceful Quaker boy, but the breaking out of the Rebellion and the call for soldiers aroused his patriotism so, that on August 11, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Twelfth New Jersey Volunteers, and gave faithful, willing service through all our trials at El- licott's Mills and that cold, stormy winter at Falmouth, being twice slightly wounded at Chancellorsville and for a few min- utes a prisoner, but the chances of battle released him quickly. An attack of typhoid fever caused him to miss the excitement of Gettysburg, but he returned to the company in time for that busy day at Auburn and Bristoe. He took his bath with the rest of us at Mortons Ford and passed bravely through that trying Wilderness campaign until we reached Cold Har- bor, where a glancing ball shattered his right arm while sit-
188
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.
ting back of the earthworks. He was removed to White House Landing, where his arm was taken off below the elbow, then sent to Washington, and to Newark, N. J., where he was dis- charged October 30, 1864, since which time he has lived at Woodbury, N. J., doing all kinds of work almost as well as with two hands. A great worker, happiest when the busiest. Always a comrade.
JAMES S. KIGER, CO. A,
The subject of this sketch, was born in Salem, Salem county, N. J., August 18, 1842. His early youth was in accord with that of many of the men of this day, a pleasant home and par- entage, but without the privileges and luxuries that abound to more favored youth. His education was begun in the private schools, so common in those days, and continued in the public school when it was established in 1847. He continued his studies until he was thirteen years of age, when it became nec- essary for him to contribute to his own support. Quitting the school-room, he began his life work first as a messenger boy in a clothing and dry goods house in his native city; was soon advanced to a clerkship and was thus engaged when the rumors of Civil War began to be the absorbing topic throughout our entire country. Though but in his eighteenth year, he imme- diately enrolled himself in the Salem Light Artillery, a militia company attached to the Salem County Brigade. He was soon after warranted as corporal and again as sergeant. This service was continued until a call for three hundred thousand more troops was issued by President Lincoln in the summer of 1862, and the Twelfth Regiment of Infantry was ordered to be raised and was assigned to the lower counties of the State. While his patriotic impulses led him to seek service in the fall of 1861, his youth and the opposition of parents and friends prevented his being accepted. In the summer of 1862 this objection was removed and he enrolled himself as private in Company A, Twelfth Regiment, Infantry, New Jersey Volunteers, which was then in process of formation in his native city. He joined the regiment at its established camp at Woodbury, N. J.,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.