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 8
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: This number was subsequently reduced, by medical examination, to ten thousand seven hundred and fourteen, being two hundred and thirty-six more than the number called for.
3 At this time, no other State had its quota in camp, so that here again New Jersey led all her sisters.
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
the field and staff officers: Colonel, Gillian Van Houten, of Hudson City ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Isaac H. Mettler, of Jersey City ; Major, Hiram Van Buskirk, of Bayonne; Surgeon, James McNeil, of Hudson City ; Assistant-Surgeon, William Janney, of Mercer County ; Adjutant, Andrew Van Buskirk, of Bayonne; Quarter- The regiment being master, William Harper, Hudson City.4
organized, armed and equipped, all which was accomplished in about ten days, it was mustered into the United States service on the 15th of September, and the next day took its departure for Washington. A day or too after its arrival, it was ordered to Frederick City, Maryland, and thence to the battle-ground of Antietam, where it joined the Army of the Potomac. Immediately upon reaching headquarters it was attached to the Third Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Corps, with which it served during its entire term of enlistment, sharing the privations and hardships, and participating in all the engagements in which that famous corps took part during the nine months following.
A few days after joining the army, the regiment marched with its corps to intercept the rebel cavalry, then making a "raid " into Maryland and Pennsylvania. After marching as far as Hagers- town, however, it was found that the rebels had escaped into Virginia, and the march was not continued further. Remaining about two weeks at Hagerstown, the command was then suddenly ordered, at midnight, to march in the direction of Dam No. 5, on the Potomac, to oppose another expected advance of the rebels
4 The following is the original list of company officers of this regiment:
Company A-Captain, George HI. Farrier ; First Lieutenant, Alfred H. Brown ; Secon.l Lieutenant, Henry E. Farrier. Company B-Captain, Thomas C. Kendall ; First Lieute- nant, Theodore Wandle; Second Lieutenant, Francis H. Bookstaver. Company C-Cap- tain, James W. Lowe; First Lieutenant, William D. W. C. Jones; Second Lieutenant, William H. Devoise. Company D-Captain, Jeffry W. Collins ; First Lieutenant, William II. Smith ; Second Lieutenant, Samucl Ramsey. Company E-Captain, Joseph S. Mount ; First Lieutenant, John W. Bowers ; Second Lieutenant, John B. Van Neste. Company F -Captain, James W. Van Keuren; First Lieutenant, John Daniel Probst ; Second Lieu- tenant, Charles Leo Abey. Company G-Captain, Frank Tyler; First Licutenant, John Shaffle; Second Lieutenant, Michael Shatlle. Company H-Captain, Foster W. Vankirk ; First Lieutenant, Richard J. Richards ; Second Lieutenant, James M. Weart. Company I-Captain, John Vreeland ; First Lieutenant, Jolin F. Holden; Second Lieutenant, John H. Garrison. Company K-Captain, Edgar A. Finney; First Lieutenant, Noble Gris lietti ; Second Lieutenant, William Alberts.
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THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
into Maryland. Reaching Dam No. 5, it was stationed to guard that ford, and extending its lines some two miles along the river, held the position until the army moved into Virginia, in pursuit of Lee.
The army having moved, orders were received by Colonel Van Houten to call in his regiment from the ford and join his brigade on the Williamsport road. Accordingly, the regiment was mus- tered as soon as possible, and moved out towards its destination. It being late in the afternoon when the order was received, darkness set in before the regiment overtook the main column ; and after marching at a rapid rate until midnight, without finding any trace of the brigade, the men being so much exhausted that it was impossible to keep them together, the Colonel ordered it into camp for the night. Early the next morning it was again put in motion to join the brigade, and after marching about an hour the junction was effected. Immediately upon joining the brigade, the Colonel was placed under arrest by the brigade commander, General Vinton, for not coming up during the night. This unjust and uncalled for act was vehemently condemned by both officers and men of the regiment, and the Colonel promptly demanded an investigation of the matter by court.martial, but after being held under arrest for a few days, he was finally released and ordered to the command of his regiment. This was very unsatisfactory to the Colonel, as it gave him no opportunity to vindicate himself from the imputation upon his efficiency; but he had no remedy. This arbitrary act of General Vinton caused an antipathy to spring up between the General and the officers and men of the regiment, which lasted a long time, and led to the regiment being sent out upon picket two or three times a week while on the march through Virginia to Aquia Creek. Finally, the attention of Brevet Major- General A. P. Howe, the division commander, was called to the injustice, when a stop was at once put to it, and thenceforward the regiment was only called upon to perform its proper share of picket- duty. With the exception of this, nothing of interest occurred until the army arrived before Fredericksburg, on the evening of December 10th. Here this regiment, with one or two others, was
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
placed under the command of Colonel Alexander Shaler, as the advanced guard of the left Grand Division (Franklin's) of the army, with orders to advance to the Rappahannock and cover the laying of the pontoons for crossing the river. After some severe skirmishing, the pontoons were laid, and during the afternoon of the 11th it crossed with the brigade, with which it advanced upon the enemy, driving him back until possession was gained of the Bowling Green road, where line of battle was formed and our batteries placed in position, the regiment being assigned as a support to Wier's (Maryland) Battery. This trying position it held from the afternoon of the 11th until the morning of the 15th, during the whole of the hard-fought and desperate engagements. On the night of the 15th, it re-crossed the river with the rest of the army, and was ordered to cover the removal of the pontoons, being the first to reach the river, and the last to leave in this engagement. Although the regiment was under a severe cross-fire of the enemy's artillery, it had but six or eight men wounded.
After this battle, the regiment went into camp with the rest of the corps, near White Oak Church, Stafford County, Virginia. Early in January, five hundred men, with the requisite number of line officers, under the command of the Major, were ordered to report to the Chief Engineer of the army for special duty, namely, the construction of a corduroy road for an approach to the Rappa- hannock River, about six miles below Fredericksburg. This was a dangerous work, the position being about one mile and a half below the picket-lines of our army, and within a few yards of the enemy's lines. The work had to be done at night, the men com- mencing soon after dark and quitting before daylight, but by vigorous efforts it was completed in three nights, when the men returned to camp. This work was intended as a blind to the rebels, and a cover to the movement which was made by Burnside against their lines a few days afterwards, known as the " mud march." which was participated in by this regiment, the march being one of great fatigue and hardship, with barren results. After this. the regiment returned to its old camp, near White Oak Church. where it remained until spring, engaged in drilling and other
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491
THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
duties. In the latter part of. April, 1863, when the army, then under the command of General Hooker, was put in motion, the Twenty-first moved with its corps (the Sixth) to the Rappahannock River, where a crossing was effected at Franklin's crossing. On the evening of the 2d of May, the corps moved forward to attack the rebels, and during that night this regiment was engaged, sup- porting the skirmish line in driving the enemy to his entrench- ments. At daylight of the 3d, the enemy having discovered our position, opened fire with musketry and artillery, whereupon the
regiment was ordered forward as skirmishers. Four companies were at once deployed and moved out, supported by the remaining companies of the regiment, and steadily drove the enemy to a point designated by the Commanding General. At about eleven o'clock, a charge was ordered along the whole line, which'resulted in the capture of the line of rebel redoubts, seventeen pieces of artillery, and a number of prisoners. In this charge, the regiment took part, behaving gallantly, and receiving the commendations of its Commanding General for its soldierly action. Immediately on getting possession of the Heights of Fredericksburg, the troops were moved forward in the direction of Chancellorsville, where the main body of the army was then engaged. After advancing about four miles, the First Division of the Sixth Corps came upon the enemy posted in a thick pine wood. Our troops attacked them at once, but were repulsed with severe loss in killed and wounded. The Twenty-first Regiment then moved forward with its brigade to their support, and after some desultory fighting until dark, was placed in line of battle, facing Chancellorsville. At break of day, on the following morning, (the 4th,) the enemy was found to be advancing upon our flank, having already taken possession of the Heights captured by our troops the day before, and flanking our position. Orders were at once given to face the line of battle from front to rear, so as to check the advance of the enemy in that direction-this duty devolving on the Third Brigade, to which this regiment was attached. The latter was ordered to hold the plank road, up which the enemy was rapidly advancing; and taking a commanding position, by a steady and well-directed fire
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492
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
it checked his further advance, until the whole brigade was brought into proper position. Soon after, however, the enemy commenced to concentrate in strong force in front of the position held by the brigade, it being the extreme left of the line of battle of the Sixth Corps, but the position was firmly held. Little fighting was done through the day, except between the skirmish lines, but about five o'clock in the afternoon, the rebels advanced in four columns upon our lines ; and now commenced the severest conflict in which this regiment was ever engaged. General Thomas H. Neil, the brigade commander, riding up to Colonel Van Houten, ordered him to advance his regiment to meet the charge. This was quickly done,
under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery. Advancing about one hundred yards, the regiment was ordered to halt and open fire, which, being steady and well-directed, twice repulsed the enemy. About this time, however, the Twentieth New York Regiment, (known as Max Weber's Regiment,) on the right, broke in confusion and fled to the rear-the regiment on the left simultaneously falling back in order under the heavy fire of the rebels on their front- thus exposing both flanks of the Twenty-first to a cross-fire of the enemy, now advancing in augmented force upon its front. The position of the regiment at this time was critical. The bravest troops could not long withstand this terrible cross-fire. Colonel Van Houten fell mortally wounded, and the regiment was losing heavily in both officers and men, and, accordingly, General Neill ordered it to fall back, which it did, after having maintained its ground in the face of a murderous fire for about three-quarters of an hour. In falling back, the regiment became somewhat con- fused, but (the Lieutenant-Colonel, for some unaccountable reason. having left the field in the morning,) the Major, upon whom the command now devolved, with the assistance of the Adjutant and remaining line officers, soon rallied the men, and continued the fight in good order until darkness ended the conflict. During the night, it re-crossed the river with the rest of the corps at Banks' Ford, about six miles above Fredericksburg. In this engagement the regiment lost heavily, in both officers and men, killed, wounded and prisoners. Most of the wounded, among whom were Colonel
493
THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
Van Houten, Captain Kendall, Captain Schaffle, Lieutenant Schaffle, and several other officers, fell into the enemy's hands. Colonel Van Houten was carried to the rear, a distance of about half a mile, to a barn, where he became utterly exhausted, and it was found impossible to remove him further. Sergeant-Major George W. Fielder, of Jersey City, was left to attend to his wants, but during the night the enemy occupied the ground, preventing his rescue. He died the next morning, and was buried by the Sergeant.Major, who, stating the circumstances of his capture to General Barksdale, the rebel commander, was at once released on parole. The body of the Colonel was recovered in a few days, under flag of truce, and sent home to Hudson County under a proper guard, commanded by First Lieutenant William D. W. C. Jones, of Company C, a brave and efficient officer, and a bosom friend of the deceased. Colonel Van Houten's death was a severe blow to the regiment, by whom he was warmly esteemed as a brave soldier and skillful commander.
During the engagement, the headquarters wagon of General Pratt, commanding the Light Brigade of the army, having been abandoned by his men, this regiment secured his effects, among which were all of his valuable papers. They also secured several mules laden with ammunition, which, but for their intervention, would have fallen into the hands of the rebels. The men lost nearly all their clothing and blankets, having unslung knapsacks on going into the fight, and not being able to recover them when retreating.5
The next day after crossing the river, the regiment was ordered to relieve the Twentieth Maine Regiment, guarding the telegraph lines from United States Ford (where the main portion of the
' A few days after this fight, several of the field offieers of the brigade were relating to the brigade commander (General Thomas H. Neill,) the maneuvers of their re- spective regiments during the engagement; after hearing them, the General replied. "I have been through the Mexican and Indian Wars, and in all the battles of the Army of the Potomac up to the present time, but I never before experienced so heavy an infantry fire as that directed against the Twenty-first New Jersey Regiment during the assault of the rebels upon my lines. I have no fault to find with any regiment of my brigade, but if I had commanded four or five regiments equally as tenacious in holding their ground as the Twenty-first, the enemy would never have broken ny lines."
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
army crossed) to Falmouth. This order was received at night, and was at once obeyed. The night was very dark, the rain coming down in torrents and continuing to do so for several hours- the regiment marching through mud and water, half knee-deep, drenched to the skin, but successfully accomplishing the task. Soon after performing this duty, the regiment returned to its old camping-ground, near White Oak Church, where the next three weeks were spent in drilling and guard duties.6
About the first of June, General Hooker discovering that Gen- eral Lee was moving his forces north towards Washington, the Sixth Corps was ordered to make a demonstration against his rear. Accordingly, early on the morning of June 3d, the' corps moved towards the Rappahannock River, and on the morning of the 4th reached Franklin's crossing. Here the enemy was found posted in a strong position behind breastworks. Arriving near the cross- ing, the Twenty-first, now under the command of Major Van Buskirk, was ordered forward as skirmishers, the order being promptly complied with, and the line advanced to the bank. It was found impossible, however, to dislodge the enemy from his
" The following is the report of the brigade commander in reference to this action : " HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, SECOND DIVISION, ! SIXTH ARMY CORPS, May 7, 1863.
"I have the honor to report, for the information of the General commanding the division, that on the night of May 2d, I led my brigade across the pontoon bridge at Mansfield, on the Rappahannock, about two and a half miles below Fredericksburg, and posted two regiments, the Forty-ninth and Thirty-third New York, as piekets in front of the enemy. At twelve o'clock, midnight, my brigade was ordered to march along the Bowling Green road towards Fredericksburg. Whilst waiting to get the road the enemy attacked the left of my picket-line, held by the Forty-ninth New York. The Forty-ninth repulsed them and held their ground. On the morning of the 3d, Sunday. at about ten o'clock, a. m., I was ordered to form three regiments as the advance of a column of assault against the heights on Mary's Hill, back of Fredericksburg. I led the Thirty-third New York, Twenty-first New Jersey and Seventh Maine, preceded by the Seventy-seventh New York, who were acting as skirmishers, under a heavy fire of shot and shell. Before reaching the batteries on the hill, against which we were di- reeted, I found they had already been taken by our troops on our right, and I directed the attack against the batteries on the hills to our left, along the Richmond road. We took in succession four distinet detached earthworks of strong profilc. We capture ..! three pieces of artillery, two long brass guns and one short howitzer, and one stand of colors belonging to the Eighteenth Mississippi Regiment, after which we marched to assist in repelling an attack of the enemy along the Chancellorsville road.
" On the morning of the 4th of May, the enemy attempted to turn our rear, when I led four regiments of my brigade back towards Fredericksburg and checked him. I must not omit to mention, that on the morning of the 4th instant, a brigade of rebeis
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THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
strong position without the use of artillery ; whereupon four bat- teries were posted in the rear of the regiment, and having opened fire, soon silenced the guns of the enemy. Under cover of this united fire of musketry and artillery a body of men was thrown across the river in boats and carried the enemy's works at the point of the bayonet, capturing about two hundred and fifty prisoners. In this skirmish the regiment lost one man killed-shot through the head by the enemy's sharpshooters while on the skirmish line. Ile was a member of Company A, of Jersey City, and universally beloved by the members of his company.
This ended the fighting of the Twenty-first. Soon after this action the regiment was ordered home to Trenton, its term of ser- vice having expired. Reaching Trenton about the 15th of June, it was reviewed by Governor Parker, and handsomely entertained at a public dinner given by the citizens and presided over by the Mayor. Soon after the regiment was mustered out of service and the men returned to their homes. Many of them subsequently re-enlisted in other regiments and served during the war. Some of the companies, upon their return to the localities in which they were raised, were handsomely received by the people. Company C
advanced to take an earthwork near the plank road, which was there occupied by our troops, when two companies of the Forty-ninth New York and one company of the Seventh Maine, supported by the Forty-ninth New York, in conjunction with two pieces of Lieutenant Martin's Battery, entirely routed the whole brigade; and the three companies of infantry afore-mentioned captured two hundred prisoners, and the colors of a rebel regiment, the Fifty-eighth Virginia.
"On the evening of the 4th of May, about five o'clock, p. m., the whole of Long- streets' rebel corps came up the Richmond road as reinforcements, attacked my right and front, massing large numbers of his infantry in the ravines which were held by their troops. After losing about one thousand men, I was obliged to retire, my regiments being unable to cope with the overpowering numbers of the enemy, and fearful, lest the position I then hield would be captured by the enemy piercing our lines in the rear, between us and Bank's Ford. In the assault the Twentieth Regiment New York Volunteers, broke and went to the rear-I could not rally them. The other regiments stood their ground nobly under a murderous fire, and by their stubborn resistance at that time, I believe the Sixth Corps was enabled eventually to re-cross the Rappahannock at Banks' Ford in the night. Colonel Van Houten, Twenty-first New Jersey, was wounded on the field of battle, and I regret to say has died-a prisoner in the hands of the enemy-from wounds received in battle.
" I cannot close my report without making full and sincere acknowledgments to the brave officers and men of the various regiments of my command, who encountered the enemy at these different battles. The horses of both my aides and my own were shot.
" With great respect,
" THOMAS H. NEILL."
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
was given a public reception and dinner, and the Major of the regiment, and officers and men of the company were the recipients of handsome gold and silver medals at the hands of the inhabi- tants of the towns of Bergen, Greenville and Bayonne, from which towns the company was recruited.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE TWENTY-SECOND REGIMENT.
THE Twenty-second Regiment, composed almost exclusively of volunteers from the county of Bergen, was mustered into service at Trenton on the 22d of September, 1862,1 and left for Washing- ton seven days later, arriving safely after some detentions, and going into camp on East Capitol Hill. Remaining here for a few days, it was then moved to a point about ten miles north of George- town, where it was employed in various duties, agreeable and other- wise, such as drills, labor upon the fortifications then in course of construction, and the like. About the last of November, after being brigaded with the Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth and Thirty-first New Jersey, and One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Pennsylvania Regiments, it proceeded by way of Port Tobacco to Liverpool l'oint, whence it crossed, on December 5th, to Aquia Creek, the march being one of great difficulty, and taxing the endurance of
' The original roster of the regiment was as follows :
Colonel, Cornelius Fornet ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Alexander Douglass ; Major, Abra_ ham G. Demarest; Adjutant, John F. Satterthwait: Quartermaster, Ural B. Titus ; Surgcon, Jacob Quick ; Assistant-Surgeons, Samuel H. Jones, John E. Cary; Chap- luin, Abraham G. Ryerson. Company A-Captain, Robert M. Berry ; First Lieutenant, Jacob Post; Second Lieutenant, Jacob Lozier. Company B-Captain, Abraham Van Emburgh ; First Lieutenant, Jacob Z. Van Blarcom ; Second Lieutenant, E. Z. Van Emburgh. Company C-Captain, Samuel D. Demarest; First Lieutenant, William J. Demarest ; Second Lieutenant, Joseph P. Vreeland. Company D-Captain, Jolin C. Westervelt, First Lieutenant, Walter H. Rumfey; Second Lieutenant, Nicholas Colig- non. Company E-Captain, William Chippendale; First Lieutenant, William Drew,
Second Lieutenant, Jolin Gilham. Company F-Captain, James M. Ayres; First Lieutenant, Joab Titus ; Second Lieutenant, George W. Cubberly. Company G-Cap- tain, John H. Margerum; First Lieutenant, Richard H. Ivory ; Second Lieutenant, William C. Vandewater. Company II-Captain, Daniel D. Blauvelt ; First Lieutenant, Aivorge Kingsland, Jr. ; Second Lieutenant, Gilbert D. Bogert. Company I-Captain, Thomas H. Swenarter; First Lieutenant, Joseph A. Blauvelt; Second Lieutenant, David C. Blauvelt. Company K-Captain, Richard C. Dey; First Lieutenant, James Christie; Second Lieutenant, Albert Forbush.
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
the men to the utmost-their sufferings being increased upon their arrival by a cold and pitiless storm, which continued two days. The weather finally clearing, the regiment was placed on provost- duty, assisting to guard the line of the Fredericksburg Railroad, and at one time aiding in transferring the dead and wounded from the cars as they came in from the bloody field of Fredericksburg, where Burnside had sought in vain to drive the enemy from his position. Early in January, 1863, the regiment was ordered to report to the Third Brigade, First Division, First Army Corps, and accordingly proceeded to Belle Plain, where it remained for some time. While here, Lieutenant-Colonel Douglass, who had been Acting Colonel,? resigned, and Abraham Demarest, of Cres- kill, was appointed to the command, Abram Van Emburgh being appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, and Samuel Demarest Major. During the winter, the regiment participated in the "Mud March," but was not otherwise actively employed, except in preparations for the spring campaign. At length, on the 28th of April, marching orders, which had been for some time anticipated, were received, and the regiment broke camp, crossing the Rappahannock on the following day (with the division) on the extreme left of our lines, some five miles below Fredericksburg, and taking position in reserve. Here it remained, without bringing on a serious engage- ment, though exposed at times to a vigorous fire, until the 2d of May, when it re-crossed the river. During the withdrawal, the rebel fire was kept up with great intensity, and two or three men of the regiment were wounded. The men now generally supposed, as their term of service had expired, that they were to turn their faces homeward, but in this they were disapppointed, the command being ordered to hurry to the relief of the army still engaged in desperate fighting about Chancellorsville. Marching with all possible expe- dition, the regiment reached the position to which it was ordered early on the morning of the 3d ; but though the fighting was still in progress, it was not again called into action. The army soon after withdrawing, the Twenty-second returned to its old position,
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