USA > New Jersey > New Jersey and the rebellion : a history of the service of the troops and people of New Jersey in aid of the Union cause, Pt. 2 > Part 44
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ease when Liberty was assailed and the nation needed defenders. The early disasters of the war, and the consequent calls for addi- tional volunteers, appealed with peculiar force to his deep sense of patriotism. He was at this time but twenty-seven years of age, but was a man in maturity, possessing strong intellectual capacities and a marked independence of thought and character, united to a hardy and robust constitution, formed by a moral and abstemious life and strengthened by constant out-door pursuits. In August, 1862, after mature consideration and under the solemn conviction of his duty, he offered his life to his country.
The Fourteenth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, was at that time being largely recruited in his native county, and on the 25th of August, 1862, he was commissioned Major in that regiment. At this time he was entirely ignorant of military science and accep- ted with reluctance so high a commission. But.his native talent soon manifested itself. He mastered the duties of his position and at once established for himself a character unrivalled in the regi- ment, as a capable and efficient officer. The greater part of the first year was passed by the Fourteenth Regiment at Frederick City, Maryland; about six months of which time, Major Vreden- burgh acted as Provost-Marshal of that city, exhibiting in that capacity marked executive ability. On the 5th of September, 1863, he was appointed by General French, Inspector General of the Third Division of the Third Corps, and acted as such on the staff of General Elliot, until the 4th of October, 1863, and then on the staff of General Carr, who was appointed to succeed Gen- eral Elliot, until the 4th of December following. On the 11th of December, he was made by General French Inspector General of the Third Corps, then consisting of about twenty seven thou- sand men. As a staff officer, Major Vredenburg was particu- larly valuable. His topographical eye was of wonderful accu- racy, for one undeveloped by a military or engineering edu. cation. His recklessness of life, his self-confidence, and his spirit of enterprise in the performance of his duties, rendered his services of incalculable importance. Towards the spring of 1864, the Third Division of the Third Corps, to which Major Vredenburgh belonged,
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INSTANCES OF GALLANTRY.
was transferred to the Sixth Corps, he remaining at the beadquar- ters of his division on the staff of General Ricketts. On May +, 1864, General Grant commenced his final advance upon the enemy, crossed the Rapidan and engaged the rebel army in its full strength. A member of Major Vredenburgh's regiment in re- counting the events of that day, says : " Our Major had done glo- riously ; all day he had been in the saddle ; all day he rode back- ward and forward through the storm of leaden hail. Was there an order to carry to that part of the division that wavered under a galling fire of the enemy, who to carry it but young Vredenburgh ? Who could take it as well? His eagle eye took in the field at a glance. How our boys would shout as they saw him dashing with the speed of an arrow from one end of the line to the other-for he rode swiftly ; he was a splendid horseman." On the following day, May 5th, and during the whole of that terrible campaign of the Wilderness, at Crump's Creek and Spottsylvania, Major Vre- denburgh distinguished himself by a courage amounting to appa- rent indifference to life, by address and by an active energy which gave promise of the highest future usefulness.
At the battle of Cold Harbor, his conduct won him the highest commendation of his superior officers. On that day his soldiers gave him the significant title of "Commander of the Sixth Corps." On July 7, 1864, the Fourteenth regiment having been withdrawn from before Petersburg, with Colonel Truex's brigade, arrived again at Frederick City, and crossing the Monocacy river on the day fol lowing, fought almost alone the well contested battle of Monocacy. Major Vredenburgh was at that time serving on the staff of Gen eral Ricketts, and it was said by intelligent citizens who witnessed the fight, that he exhibited more bravery than any man in the field. In this fight, Lieutenant-Colonel Hall commanding, and every Captain in the regiment, who successively took command, were either killed or wounded. At this time Major Vredenburgh, with most commendable zeal and self-sacrifice, asked to be restored to his regiment.
After much marching and countermarching, at midnight on the 18th of September, 1864, the Fourteenth Regiment, now in com-
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
mand of Major Vredenburgh, marched from its works at Berry- ville in the direction of Winchester, and at Opequan, not far dis- tant from this latter place, again engaged the enemy. At eight o'clock in the morning, the signal being given, the Fourteenth, with its Major at its head, charged the rebel foe, through a galling fire of ball and shell. Before the charge Major Vreden- burgh declared to his soldiers that he meant to lead them to the enemy's intrenchments, enjoining them to rely on him-to keep him in view and obey only his orders-and he gallantly led them forward. This time death chose a conspicuous mark and singled from that whole command the most noble victim. He was struck by a fragment of shell and killed instantly. His last words were " Forward men ! Forward, and guide on me!" A fitting close to the life of a patriot martyr-a life without fear and above reproach.
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CHAPTER XLVII.
CHAPLAINS AND SURGEONS.
No class of men connected with the army occupied a more responsible and in some respects delicate position than the Chap- lains. They needed to be something more than common men. No man of reticent, haughty or churlish nature could fill acceptably this sacred and responsible office. No man of easy virtue, who compromised his official character by undue familiarity with the vices of the camp, or wore his piety as a robe, to be put on or off at will, could hope to command respect or exert a wholesome influence. The Chaplain needed to be sincere, genuine, sturdy ; to possess on the one hand the highest moral courage, and on the other the kindliest spirit of brotherhood; ability so to rebuke as that the very reproof should convince its object of his sympathy and friendly concern; needed, in one word, to possess every Chris- tian grace, and with them all a robust and hardy fitness for danger which nothing could weary and nothing appal. Not only was it the Chaplain's office to preach and pray; he was the counsellor, guide, exemplar of the men; he was their nurse in camp and hos- pital, their cheery helper on the march, their supporter in the hour of death. To him they came as to a father or elder brother with all their troubles and complaints; from him they exacted continu- ally confidential services ; under him many were glad to march as soldiers of the Heavenly King. Could a man of narrow feelings, with an empty life and a cold heart, fill such an office with satis- faction ? Do men gather fruit from vines whose juices have dried up and whose roots are dead ?
It was fortunate for the efficiency and moral character of our New Jersey Regiments that their Chaplains were for the most part men of genuine piety and profound devotion to their work. Some were, indeed, vastly superior to others in all the elements of
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
capacity and usefulness ; but none, we believe, were wholly ineffi - cient or lacking in sympathy with the spirit of their calling. Many labored with a fidelity, an industry and a forgetfulness of self, which challenged the admiration of all beholders, and made them indispensable helpers in all the details of regimental duty. These performed not merely the work peculiar to their office; they did infinitely more, setting no bounds to their sphere of activity, and shunning no service in which they could benefit the cause or con- tribute to the comfort of a brother. The names of these faithful servants of the Master of All need not be shrined, with special honor, on these pages. They are known to thousands scattered all abroad through the land, and written in shining letters where no praise of ours could add to the lustre. Obviously, those Chaplains who served with the regiments of the First and Second Brigades were exposed to greater perils and encountered severer labors than those of some other commands; and all of these, without excep- tion, were men of peculiar qualifications, as, in the recollection of those with whom they served, they were men of rare fidelity and zeal. One of these, recapitulating the services of the Chaplains generally of our regiments, writes of them as follows: "They were self-denying men. They looked after the spiritual and tem- poral wants of the troops, and supplied them to the full extent of their ability. When needed at the hospital to assist in the care of the sick and wounded, they were always ready ; in the camp they held religious services, often under many discouragements ; wrote letters for the men when needed, forwarded their money home after pay-day, and in every way sought to be truly the soldier's friend. Many built chapels, only to be compelled to abandon them; but still the work went on. One Chaplain built, or assisted in build- ing, four of these structures in two years, besides furnishing three or four other roofless places with seats. To build these chapels- felling the trees and lifting them, green and heavy, into place, and then, after furnishing them with scats, be obliged to leave them, perhaps at the end of a week, was indeed discouraging-but such was the Chaplain's life. * * One of the last acts the Chaplains performed was to collect our dead-buried here and there wherever
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they fell-into burying grounds, which were laid out and fenced, at points a mile or so in the rear of the most important battle- fields. After disinterring the bodies, we put them in good strong boxes and buried them at a proper depth, with a plainly marked board at the head of each grave. This was one of the most satis- factory services we ever performed. In some cases, on account of sudden movements, it was not wholly completed by all the Chap- lains, but some of us got all our dead that could possibly be found thus safely removed. Not one of the Eleventh Regiment dead, for instance, killed or dying from any cause during the last two years of its service, was left unburied or his grave unmarked."
The total number of Chaplains serving with New Jersey regi- ments from first to last, was forty-seven. The list, as certified by the Adjutant-General of the State, is as follows :
First Regiment-Robert B. Yard, William H. McCormick.
Second Regiment-Robert R. Proudfit.
Third Regiment-George R. Darrow, Joseph H. James.
Fourth Regiment-Norman W. Camp, Daniel A. Miles.
Fifth Regiment-Thomas Sovereign.
Sixth Regiment-Samuel T. Moore.
Seventh Regiment-Julius D. Rose, Edward J. Hamilton.
Eighth Regiment-A. Saint John Chambre, Henry B. Raybold, Samuel T. Moore. Ninth Regiment-Thomas Drumm, John J. Carrell.
Tenth Regiment-Jacob B. Graw, George Lorin Brooks, Robert R. Proudfit.
Eleventh Regiment-Frederick Knighton, E. Clark Cline.
Twelfth Regiment-William B. Otis.
Thirteenth Regiment-T. Romeyn Beck.
Fourteenth Regiment-Frank B. Rose.
Fifteenth Regiment-Alanson A. Haines.
First Cavalry-Henry R. Pyne. Twenty-first Regiment-Samuel Conn.
Twenty-second Regiment-Abraham G. Ryerson.
Twenty-third-William T. Abbott.
Twenty-fourth Regiment-William C. Stockton.
Twenty-fifth Regiment-Francis E. Butler; died of wounds received in action, May 3, 1863, Jolin M. Robinson.
Twenty-sixth Regiment-David T. Morrill; dismissed. Twenty-seventh Regiment-John Faull. Twenty-eighth Regiment-Christian J. Page. Twenty-ninth Regiment-Lester C. Rogers. Thirtieth Regiment-John S. Janeway. Thirty-first Regiment-John McNair. Second Cavalry-Edwin N. Andrews. Thirty-third Regiment-John Faull. Thirty-fourth Regiment-Archibald Beatty.
Thirty-fifth Regiment-Nathaniel L. Upham. Third. Cavalry-John H. Frazee. Thirty-eighth Regiment-Charles R. Hartranfft."
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
Thirty-ninth Regiment-Edward D. Crane. No Chaplains were appointed for the Thirty-seventh and Fortieth Regiments.
So far as the records show, the number of Surgeons from this State who were connected with the Volunteer service was sixty- five, and of Assistant-Surgeons ninety three. Nine Assistant-Sur- geons from New Jersey were also connected with the Regular Army, while there were several others who served with the Navy, in honorable positions. So far as evidence is at hand, it fully con- firms the popular impression that, almost without exception, these men performed their duties with intelligence, fidelity, and the most praiseworthy zeal for the welfare of the service. It is certain that very many attained high reputation, as well as exalted positions, in the Army. Doctor A. N. Dougherty, who went out as Surgeon of the Fourth Regiment, became, before the close of the war, Medi- cal Director of the Right Grand Division of the Army of the Potomac, composed of the Second and Ninth Corps, thus reaching a higher and more responsible post than was attained by any officer of the Volunteer Medical Staff. Doctor Gabriel Grant, originally Surgeon of the Second Regiment, early became Brigade Surgeon, and after distinguished service with the army of the Potomac, was made Medical Director of Hospitals at Evansville, Indiana, being subsequently placed in command of the Madison United States . Army Government Hospital, at Madison, in the same State, where at one time he had two thousand seven hundred and sixty patients under his care. While in the field, he was frequently mentioned for meritorious conduct. . Doctor Lewis W. Oakley entered the service as Assistant Surgeon of the Second Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, May 21, 1861 ; was promoted to the Surgeoncy of the Fourth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, October 12, 1861, and transferred to the Second Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, as Surgeon, January 2, 1862. From this date, he was Surgeon 'in Chief of the First New Jersey Brigade, First Division, Sixth Corps, until the expiration of his term of enlistment. He was in all the battles of the Potomac Army, from the first Bull Run down to Coal Harbor, and frequently performed arduous hospital duty, having
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CHAPLAINS AND SURGEONS.
charge of the Sixth Corps Hospital in May and June, 1863, and also at Gettysburg in the following July. He was among the most efficient and faithful New Jersey Surgeons, and enjoyed from first to last the confidence and esteem of his superiors.
Among other Surgeons who deserve honorable mention are J. Theodore Calhoun, Joseph D. Osborne, J. Andrew Freeman, Wil- liam W. Bowlby, W. W. L. Phillips, Edward L. Welling and John J. Craven-the latter of whom, entering the service as Surgeon of Runyon's Brigade in April, 1861, remained on duty until long after the close of the war. Subsequently passing the Board of Army Surgeons, he was made a Brigade Surgeon, and assigned to duty with General H. G. Wright's Brigade, composing a part of Sher- man's Expeditionary Corps. Accompanying this expedition, Doc- tor Craven was (in February, 1862) made Chief Medical Officer of a force commanded by General Wright, with which he proceeded to. Florida, being subsequently assigned to duty on Tybee Island, Georgia, having medical care of all General Gilmore's forces then investing Fort Pulaski. In September, 1862, having returned to Hilton Head, he was made Medical Purveyor of the Department of the South. Here he remained, for a time filling the duties of Chief Medical Officer and participating in the operations against Forts Wagner and Sumter, until May, 1864. He was then made Medical Director of the Tenth Corps, with which he proceeded to Virginia, and in August was detailed as a member of a board for the examination of hospitals in the Department of the East, re- turning to his post (in thirty days) as Medical Director, Tenth Corps. He remained until January 17, 1865, when by special orders. he was assigned to duty as Medical Purveyor of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, with his headquarters at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, filling at the same time the position of Chief Medical Officer of that District, where he remained on duty until December 16, 1865, when he was relieved from duty at that post. While there he was the medical attendant of Jefferson Davis, then a State prisoner. He was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel (March, 1865) for faithful and meritorious services during the war.
APPENDED NOTES.
I.
THE record of New Jersey's part in the War for the Union, would be incom- plete without a reference to the sufferings of those of our troops who, falling into the hands of the enemy, were exposed to the horrors of the prisons in which he confined his captives. Hundreds of our men suffered this sad cx- perience, and not a few miserably perished under the privations and hard- ships to which they were subjected. The mortality at Andersonville, Georgia, was greater than at any other point, and the horrors of that death-pen will. never be forgotten by any who there felt the full measure of rebel cruelty. The story of the atrocities there inflicted upon Union prisoners has been often told, but its repetition will never be in vain, so long as it shall tend to keep alive in the public mind a just appreciation of the value of the Union, which could only be saved at such fearful cost.
It is, of course, impossible in a work of this character to do anything more than barely refer to the cases of a few of the Jerseymen confined in the prisons of the Confederacy. One of the most conspicuous instances, though not in- volving the actual physical suffering experienced in very many others, was that of Major H. W. Sawyer, of the Second Cavalry. Major Sawyer entered the service early in April, 1861, joining one of the first companies which left Pennsylvania for Washington. Subsequently, he became one of General Stone's scouts, but applying for service with the New Jersey troops, was appointed a lieutenant in the Second Cavalry, with which he served with marked distinc- tion. In the battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863, being then a captain, Le was taken prisoner, and after remaining a short time at Culpepper, was carried to Richmond, and placed in Libby Prison. Here he remained undisturbed until the 6th of July, when, all the captains among the prisoners were sum- moned by General Winder from their quarters into a lower room of the prison. No exchanges having taken place, the men generally supposed that they were to be paroled and sent home. But no such good fortune awaited them. Instead of receiving an order for their release, they were informed that an order had been issued by the Rebel War Department, directing that two cap- tains should be selected by lot from among the prisoners, to be shot in retaliation for the execution by General Burnside of two rebel officers, who had been detected in recruiting within the Union lines. The consternation occasioned by this announcement may be imagined. They had hoped for release, and
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APPENDED NOTES.
here was an order which in a momentclouded the whole prospect. Escape of course, was impossible; the drawing was inevitable. After being formed in a hollow square, a slip of paper, with the name of each man written upon it, and carefully folded up, was deposited in a box, whereupon Captain Turner informed the men that they might select whom they pleased to draw the names, the first two names drawn to indicate the men to be shot.
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Captain Sawyer, who alone seemed to retain his self-possession, suggested that one of the chaplains be appointed. Three of the chaplains were called down from an upper room, and the Rev. Mr. Brown, of the Sixth Maryland, accepting the task, amid a silence almost deathlike, the drawing commenced. The first name taken out of the box was that of Captain Henry Washington Sawyer, of the Second New Jersey Cavalry, and the second that of Captain Flynn, of the Fifty-first Indiana. When the names were read out, says the Richmond Dispatch, "Sawyer heard it with no apparent emotion, remarking that some one had to be drawn, and he could stand it as well as any one else. Flynn was very white and much depressed." The drawing over, the prisoners were returned to their quarters, the condemned, meanwhile, proceeding under guard to the headquarters of General Winder, Provost-Marshal-General. Here they were warned not to delude themselves with any hope of escape, as retaliation must be and would be inflicted, it being added that the execu- tion would positively take place on the 14th, eight days hence. Sawyer, however, desperate as the situation seemed, did not despair, but reflecting that if by any means his situation could be brought to the knowledge of the Government, he might still be rescued, he asked permission to write to his wife, which being granted on condition that the authorities should read the letter, he immediately wrote the following, which none other than a brave and true-souled man, thus standing in the very shadow of death, could pen :
PROVOST-GENERAL'S OFFICE, RICHMOND, Virginia, July 6, 1863.
MY DEAR WIFE :- I am under the necessity of informing you that my prospect looks dark.
This morning, all the captains now prisoners at the Libby military prison, drew lots for two to be executed. It fell to my lot. Myself and Captain Flynn, of the Fifty-first Indiana Infantry, will be executed for two captains executed by Burnside.
The Provost-General, J. H. Winder, assures me that the Secretary of War of the Southern Confederacy, will permit yourself and my dear children to visit me before I am executed. You will be permitted to bring an attendance. Captain Whilldin, or uncle W. W. Ware, or Dan, had better come with you. My situation is hard to be borne, and I cannot think of dying without seeing . you and the children. You will be allowed to return without molestation to your home. I am resigned to whatever is in store for me, with the consola- tion that I die without having committed any crime. I have no trial, no jury, nor am I charged with any crime, but it fell to my lot. You will pro- ceed to Washington. My Government will give you transportation to For- tress Monroe, and you will get here by a flag of truce, and return the same way. Bring with you a shirt for me.
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It will be necessary for you to preserve this letter, to bring evidence at Washington of my condition. My pay is due me from the 1st of March, which you are entitled to. Captain B- owes me fifty dollars-money lent to him when he went on a furlough. You will write to him at once, and he will send it to you.
My dear wife-the fortune of war has put me in this position. If I must die, a sacrifice to my country, with God's will I must submit; only let me see you once more, and I will die becoming a man and an officer ; but for God's sake do not disappoint me. Write to me as soon as you get this, and go to Captain Whilldin ; he will advise you what to do.
I have done nothing to deserve this penalty. But you must submit to your fate. It will be no disgrace to myself, you, or the children; but you may point with pride and say, "I give my husband;" my children will have the consolation to say, "I was made an orphan for my country." God will pro- vide for you, never fear. Oh ! it is hard to leave you thus. I wish the ball that passed through my head in the last battle would have done its work ; but it was not to be so. My mind is somewhat influenced, for it has come so suddenly on me. Write to me as soon as you get this ; leave your letter open and I will get it. Direct my name and rank, by way of Fortress Monroe. Farewell ! farewell ! and hope it is all for the best. I remain yours until death.
H. W. SAWYER, Captain Second New Jersey Cavalry.1
After penning this letter, with a conflict of feeling which we may well imagine, Sawyer and his companion were returned to prison, where they were placed in close confinement in a dungeon under ground. Here they were fed on corn-bread and water, the dungeon being so damp that their clothing mildewed. The 14th came at last, but still they remained unmo- lested. Sawyer had estimated aright; his letter had saved him from the rebel clutch. Immediately upon receiving it, his truc-hearted wife hastened to lay the matter before influential friends, and these at once proceeding to Washington, presented the case to the President and Secretary of War, who, without delay, directed that General Lee, son of General Robert E. Lee, and General Winder, son of the rebel Provost-Marshal-General, then prisoners in our hands, should be placed in close confinement as hostages-General But- ler being at the same time ordered to notify thie Confederate Government that immediately upon receiving information, authentic or otherwise, of the exe- cution of Sawyer and Flynn, he should proceed to execute Winder and Lee. This action, prompt and unmistakable, and the more significant, perhaps, to the enemy, because of General Butler's known resolution of purpose, produced the desired effect. Sawyer and Flynn were not executed. After remaining
1 The Richmond Dispatch, of July 7, said :- Sawyer wrote a letter home, and read it aloud to the detective standing near. Upon coming to the last part of it, saying, "Farewell, my dear wife, farewell, my children, farewell, mother," he begged those standing by to excuse him, and, turning aside, burst into tears. Flynn said he had no letters to write home, and only wanted a priest.
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APPENDED NOTES.
twenty-one days in the dungeon to which they were consigned, they were relieved and placed on the same footing as other prisoners. Still, however, the Richmond papers vehemently insisted that the execution must and would take place, and the fate of the condemned remained for some time longer a matter of speculation and doubt. But the days lengthened into weeks; the winter passed, and at length, in March, 1864. the prison doors were opened, Sawyer being exchanged for General Lee. The satisfaction with which the brave Captain once more walked forth a free man, and found shelter under the old flag, was such as only a man coming from death into life-from dis- mal bondage into joyous and perfect liberty-can ever experience, and none other, certainly, can appreciate. It should be added, that Captain Sawyer, after this sad experience as before it, fought gallantly and effectively for the good cause, coming out of the war a Major, and with scars more honorable than the highest rank.
Of the escapes of Jerseymen from Southern prisons, of which there were many, those of Lieutenant Fowler, of the Fifteenth Regiment, and Lieutenant J. M. Drake, of the Ninth, were undoubtedly the most remarkable and romantic. Both wandered for weeks in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, often pursued, and continually exposed to the greatest perils; but both found friends and helpers, and finally, after almost incredible sufferings, reached our lines in safety. Fowler was once recaptured, but again escaped, and is to-day faithfully serving the country in the Regular Army, while Drake, with no shadow of the old peril on his face, still lives to do battle for the prin- ciples for which he nobly suffered.
II.
The following facts, not elsewhere stated, are supplied from the office of the Adjutant-General, and are given here as of permanent interest and value. The number of commissions issued during the war to organizations in active service was 3,981. The total amount of money transmitted from the troops in the field.to their families at home, under the supervision of Colonel Jonathan Cook, was $2,275,989, as follows :- $262,052 in 1862; $962,196 in 1863; $812,802 in 1864; and $238,849 in 1865. The amount of money paid by the State to soldiers and their families, was as follows :
Deceased and, discharged-1861, $23,651.10; 1862, $26,341.15; 1863, $141,631.61; 1864, $237,745.10; 1865, 126,471.67 : total, $555,840.63.
Families and dependent mothers-1861, $78,773.10; 1862, $362,369.35; 1863, $523,723.23; 1864, $380,463.05; 1865, 416,204.62; total, $1,761,533.95. Total Disbursement, $2.317,374.58.
By Joint Resolutions of the Legislature, approved March 27th, 1866, an Honorable Testimonial was directed to be issued to all soldiers honorably dis- charged, or the heirs of deceased soldiers who have served in New Jersey Regiments; also to residents of New Jersey, honorably discharged from regi- ments of other States, United States regular army, navy, or colored troops, on forwarding their discharges. Thousands of these testimonials have already been distributed, men of all ranks justly prizing them as a recognition of faithful service. .
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
The whole number of casualties among New Jersey Officers during the war was as follows :-
Officers killed in action, 107; died of wounds, 45; died of disease, 30; drowned 4; died in rebel prison, 3; total, 189.
III.
Brief reference has elsewhere been made to the efficiency of the Adjutant- General's Department during the war. During the whole period of the re- bellion, this office had the entire charge of the clothing, subsisting, lodging, arming, equipping and transporting of the troops furnished by the State, and throughout, this vast work was performed with a fidelity and a regard to economy, which deserves the highest praise. In the matter of clothing and equipments, this department exercised especial care, contractors in all cases being held strictly to the fullest performance of their stipulations. In the purchase of supplies, the same scrupulous care was exercised, while in all con- troversies arising with the general Government, as to the claims of the State for reimbursement of moneys expended by it on war account, General Perrine uniformly exhibited the very highest appreciation of the responsibilities of his position. Never shrinking from any labor, proving always judicious in coun- sel and trustworthy in action, this officer deserved far higher and more gene- ral approbation at the hands of the supporters of the war than he received- as those who were most intimately associated with him in duty will unani- mously and most cordially attest.
IV.
No mention is made in these pages of the services of Jerseymen who were connected with the navy during the war. There is one name, however, which must not be passed in silence-that of Commodore Boggs, whose exploits in the capture of New Orleans, ranked him among the naval heroes of the age. Commodore Boggs was, perhaps, as sturdy and indomitable a sea fighter as the war produced, and Jerseymen may justly rejoice in his fame, alike as a patriot, and a king among those who "go down to the sea in ships."
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