USA > New Jersey > New Jersey troops in the Gettysburg campaign from June 5 to July 31, 1863 > Part 17
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IN THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN.
through the fields under that shell fire. How soon will our turn come ? The cannonade begins to slacken and die out, and in a little while come the rattle and steady roar of musketry. Which side holds its own? No ambulances come in; no messengers from the front ; no stragglers can be seen pouring over the hill, as on the previous afternoon when the Third Corps was fighting its great battle. The minutes seem hours, Presently an orderly is seen hurrying across the fields. We call him to us and eagerly ask what news from the front. 'The Union lines stand firm,' he shouts. Each man breathes a silent prayer of thanks to God, and then with three cheers for General Meade and the Army of the Potomac all return to their work." 1
- The number of wounded who were cared for by the medical director of the Army of the Potomac was 14,193, and Confederates 6,802-a total of 20,995. These figures include the Federal wounded of July I, who fell into Union hands on the 4th.
The wounded from other corps suffered dreadfully. During the morning of July 4th a heavy rain fell-an occurrence which seemed to succeed every great battle, and hundreds of disabled soldiers were without shelter, and unable to reach any. The water in Rock Creek rose to a considerable height and in immense volume rushed south ward with great force, in several instances carrying down with it the wounded men along its banks who were unable to move to higher ground, and some were drowned. The effect of the rain upon the
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dead bodies of men and horses lying on the field was ghastly-but it would be painful to particularize.
The town of Gettysburg had not suffered much in a material sense. ยท The enemy occupied it, and this saved it from the terrible effects of a cannonade from that side. Its residents were Union people and no attempt therefore to shell the rebel lines there was made by Meade. But occasionally a cannon ball penetrated the town and in two instances houses were pierced, the balls remaining imbedded in the brick walls where they can now be seen.
On the morning of July fourth about eight o'clock the Thirteenth New Jersey Regiment rejoined its corps and with them went on a reconnoissance over the enemy's position on the Union right. They found no signs of Ewell's troops, that officer having retired the night before, and passing through Gettysburg formed a new line with Lee's army, along the ridge of Seminary Hill. Meade did not attempt a counter- charge after the fight on the third. General Han- cock, when wounded, had suggested it, but Lee had been given too much time to prepare for defence. On the evening of the third of July Meade sent for- ward a body of troops to feel the enemy, who speedily withdrew, and at a council of his corps commanders that night it was decided not to at- attack Lee, nor to follow the same route, if he retired. It was not at all clear to Mcade's mind that Lee was so badly punished that he was not able to outnumber him, and taking the benefit of the
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doubt, he waited to ascertain what Lee intended doing. That officer however was preparing for his march back to Virginia, and taking advantage of Meade's inaction had covered a long distance before the Army of the Potomac moved. Lee had the shorter and more direct route to the Potomac and his advance had reached the river several days ahead of his pursuers, but the heavy rains had so swollen the stream that he could not replace the bridges that had
been swept away. It was the twelfth of July before Meade confronted him in line of battle and on the night of the thirteenth unmolested Lee crossed over into Virginia. A few of his rear guard were captured the next morning by Union cavalry, but Lee, with all his plunder, had escaped. The Army of the Potomac recrossed into Virginia and no engagement of any importance took place between the two armies. There was a good deal of lively skirmishing between the cavalry. On the fifth of July the First New Jersey had a sharp engagement in the mountain passes north of Emmetsburg, and again on the sixth, Lieutenant Thomas S. Cox receiving a bad wound. On the fourteenth the regiment had an encounter with the Twelfth Virginia and captured its colonel. Affairs of this kind occupied the attention of the cavalry daily, but aside from these nothing of moment occurred on the march.
The Comte de Paris who has made an exhaustive research among the figures presented by both armies sums up the effective strength during the battle to be :
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For the Army of the Potomac from eighty-two to eighty-four thousand men ; army of Northern Virginia from sixty-eight to sixty-nine thousand men, actually upon the field of battle. The losses were enormous for the number of combatants engaged, amounting to twenty-seven per cent. for the Union army and thirty- six per cent. for the Confederates.
The losses in officers in both armies were heavy. On the Union side were Major-General Reynolds, and Brigadier-Generals Vincent and Weed, killed ; Major- Generals Sickles, Hancock, Doubleday, Gibbon, Bar- low, Warren and Butterfield, and Brigadier-Generals Graham, Paul, Barnes, Brooke and Webb, wounded.
The rebels lost in killed Generals Armistead, Barks- dale, Garnett, Pender, Semmes and Pettigrew (during the retreat); and Generals Anderson, Hampton, Hood, Jenkins, Jones, Kemper and Scales, wounded. The rebel General Archer was captured on July Ist.
The list of officers of lower rank would fill a page. The death of Hazlett and Cushing of the artillery service, and of Colonels Rorty, Sherrill, Zook, Cross and Willard, of the infantry each signify especially heroic services rendered most opportunely, and under circumstances of the most exalting nature.
The success of the Union arms at Gettysburg did for the cause of humanity precisely what the Declaration of Independence did for mankind in 1776. The latter was the protest of a misgoverned people against the encroachments of kingly rule upon their rights and privileges ; the battle of Gettysburg proclaimed the
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dawn of liberty to an enslaved race and exhibited to the world the sublime spectacle of a nation of freemen determined that every one within its borders should have that liberty which the Declaration of Independence proclaimed to be the inalienable right of all men. The war for the Union, first begun by the slaves States of the South, was waged on the part of the government for national preservation, but when President Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Emancipation, the contest took on a new phase, and slavery was doomed to eternal destruction by, the success of the national arms. How eloquently Presi- dent Lincoln drew the picture in his dedicatory address at Gettysburg-a speech immortalized as a master- piece of English composition, in the breadth of thought as well as in the beauty of expression which character- izes it :
" Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now, we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final rest- ing-place for those who here gave their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate- we cannot consecrate-we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead,
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who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power, to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it never can forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedi- cated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
CHAPTER XVI.
ORGANIZATION OF THE
11 GETTYSBURG BATTLE - FIELD COMMISSION -- A RECORD OF ITS WORK-DESCRIP-
TION OF THE MONUMENTS.
F OR several years efforts had been made to enlist the sympathies of the survivors of New Jersey regiments for the purpose of securing the erec- tion of monuments to mark the position occupied by each of them on Gettysburg battle-field. For a long time little progress was made, until at a meeting of the Eighth Regiment Association a bill was pre- pared and presented to the Legislature for State aid in the work of erecting monuments, which was enacted into a law. The Twelfth New Jersey Regiment previous to this with commendable promptness and energy went voluntarily to work to procure a monu- ment for themselves and were the first New Jersey organization to erect and dedicate a monument on the battle-field.
In 1885 the Legislature passed the bill entitled "An act to provide for the erection of suitable monuments to mark the position of New Jersey regiments upon the battle-field of Gettysburg," which provided for the appointment by the Governor of three commissioners, to be known as " the Gettysburg Battle-field Commis-
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sion of New Jersey," and empowering them to call to their aid one officer or enlisted man who was present at the battle of Gettysburg, from each New Jersey regiment and battery there engaged, to assist them in locating the lines and positions occupied by their respec- tive regiments and batteries. This bill became a law on May 27, 1886, and the Governor subsequently appointed the following Commissioners : Colonel James N. Duffy of Newark, Honorable William H. Corbin of Elizabeth and Honorable Gottfried Kreuger of Newark. The Commissioners organized by the selection of Colonel Duffy for president and Honorable William H. Corbin as Secretary. . In accordance with that provision of the law which authorized the selection of representatives of the several regiments and batteries engaged at Gettysburg, to aid in locating the sites of their respective commands, the following were selected by the commission :
First Infantry-First Sergeant William Brant.
Second Infantry-Surgeon Lewis W. Oakley, Lieu- tenant Joseph Donovan.
Third Infantry-First Sergeant A. W. Cattell. Fourth Infantry-John P. Beech.
Fifteenth Infantry-Corporal Jacob Reidinger. Fifth Infantry-Colonel William J. Sewell. Sixth Infantry-Joseph Smith.
Seventh Infantry-First Sergeant W. H. H. Condit, Theodore Searing.
Eighth Infantry-Sergeant Benjamin Murphy.
GETTYSBURG BATTLE-FIELD COMMISSION OF NEW JERSEY.
COL. JAMES N. DUFFY, President.
HON. WILLIAM H. CORBIN, Secretary. HON. GOTTFRIED KRUEGER.
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Eleventh Infantry-Frank P. Mulcahy. Twelfth Infantry-Sergeant James White. Thirteenth Infantry-Samuel Toombs. First Cavalry-Lieutenant George A. Bowne.
Battery "B," First Artillery-Captain A. Judson Clark.
The Commission, with these representatives, visited the Gettysburg battle-field on the first of July follow- ing and selected the positions for the monuments to the several regiments. When the expenses of the trip were defrayed and the payment to the Gettysburg Battle- field Memorial Association of $3,000 was made, it was found that but $370 remained for each regiment and battery with which to erect a monument.
The Thirteenth New Jersey Regiment held its first reunion since the war at Orange on October 13th following, and appointed a committee on monument which promptly organized and submitted a design for the approval of the Commission. As the cost was to be two thousand dollars, and the State appropriation was only three hundred and seventy dollars, the Com- mission approved the design, the committee of the Thirteenth Regiment becoming responsible for the balance of the money. This was the first monument erected and dedicated by the State Commission.
In 1886 and 1887 the act creating the Commission was amended by increasing the amount to be appropri- ated to each regiment and battery to nine hundred and fifty dollars cach, and this sum was increased to one
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thousand dollars by voluntary subscriptions from a few public-spirited and patriotic gentlemen.
The Commission presented its first report to the Legislature of 1887, wherein is set forth the several locations as agreed upon, and which will be found marked on the map accompanying this book.
The work of the Commission has been most admira- bly performed, and the greatest care has been exer- cised that in every particular, the foundations, material and workmanship shall be of the very best, and the most durable in quality. These stones are not erected for a day but for all time and they will stand for centuries silent monitors of the greatest battle of modern times; and coming generations will read the inscriptions engraved on them with mingled feelings of curiosity and respect for the valor of the men who so stubbornly fought on that bloody field for the integ- rity of the Republic and the rights of mankind.
THE MONUMENTS.
TWELFTH NEW JERSEY INFANTRY.
The handsome stone which commemorates the services of the members of this regiment in their gallant defense of Cemetery Ridge on the third day of July, was erected by private subscription among the members of the regiment and their friends, and was the first of the New Jersey monuments put up. As early as 1882, members of the regiment interested themselves in the work, and at the annual meeting of 22
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the Society of the Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers in 1883, a monument committee, compris- ing Comrades Joseph Burroughs, Frank M. Acton and James S. Kiger, was appointed. At the next meeting in 1884, the committee was enlarged by the appointment of Comrades H. F. Chew and George Danenhower. Under the active surpervision of this committee the necessary funds were raised and on the 26th of May, 1886, the monument was formally dedi- cated. Captain F. M. Riley of Bridgeton, the Presi- dent of the Association presented the monument to the Gettysburg Battle-Field Memorial Association and it was accepted by the Secretary, J. M. Krauth, Esq. Colonel William E. Potter, who was Second Lieu- tenant of Company K at the time of the battle, delivered the oration.
The monument is constructed of Richmond granite, a very durable stone, and is twelve feet six inches in height. It is located in the centre of the position occupied by the regiment, and is one of the most prominent in the whole line. The base of the monu- ment is four feet. eight inches square, and two feet high with sides rustic-dressed. The sub-base is three feet eight inches square and eighteen inches high, fine hammered, and containing this inscription : " 2d Brig. 3d Div. 2d Corps," on three of its sides. The die is two feet eight inches square by four feet ten inches in height, polished on the two faces fronting Round Top avenue and inscribed as follows: On first face :
PARSONS BATTERY
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" In memory of the men of the Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Infantry Volunteers, who fell upon this field July 2d and 3d 1863, and who elsewhere died under the flag, this monument is dedicated by their surviving comrades as an example to future genera- tions."
On the second face :
" Buck and Ball calibre 69."
"This regiment made two separate charges on the Bliss barn and captured it."
The capstone is three feet two inches square by two feet high, upon each face of which has been placed the badge of the Second Corps, the Trefoil, raised and polished.
The capstone is surmounted by a pedestal upon which is a representation of the missiles so effectively used by the regiment in repelling the charge of the enemy - buck and ball. The monument was con- structed by Mr. Michael Reilly of Camden, N. J., and cost entire $1,000.00.
TWELFTH REGIMENT MARKER.
Under the provisions of the law by which the New Jersey Gettysburg Battle-Field Commission are gov- erned, the Twelfth Regiment was entitled to a monu- ment by the State, and the Commission very wisely determined to place a substantial marker on the site of the Bliss barn, in the capture of which the Twelfth had performed one of the most daring and heroic acts
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which characterized the battle. The site of the Bliss barn had been purchased by the Fourteenth Con- necticut Regiment, who also charged upon the enemy secreted there, and burned it, but they generously accorded to the State Commission the right to put a marker there for the Twelfth Regiment. This marker or tablet is one massive piece of Quincy granite, ten feet three inches long, three feet nine inches wide and two feet thick, extending into the ground five feet, and weighs about eight tons, and was constructed by Messrs. Frederick & Field, of Quincy, Mass. The part above the ground measures five feet three inches in height. The stone is in the form of a tablet and base combined, cut solid, and the upper part is polished front and back and suitably inscribed. On the slant, or top, are two crossed bayonets, carved, and corps badge laid on top, face of same polished. Also "12th N. J. Vols," in raised and bold face letters. On front is the following inscription :
" Erected by the State of New Jersey, 1888, in honor of the 12th Regiment of Volunteers, a detachment of which in the afternoon of July 2, 1863, charged the Bliss house and barn here, capturing the enemy's skirmish reserve of 7 officers and 85 men stationed therein."
On the rear of the tablet is the following :
" On the morning of July 3 another detachment of the regiment charged, capturing the buildings, one officer and one man, and driving back the skirmish reserve. The regiment lost in their charges 60 officers and men."
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THIRTEENTH NEW JERSEY INFANTRY.
The beautiful memorial stone of the Thirteenth Regiment was the second New Jersey monument erected on the battle-field, and the first in which the State Commission was officially interested. This regi- ment manifested a very marked interest in the work of the Commission, and in the erection of its monument. At a meeting of the Regimental Association in Septem- ber, 1886, a monument committee, comprising the fol- lowing members of the association was appointed : F. H. Harris, A. M. Matthews, J. J. H. Love, Albert Delano, Samuel Toombs, John Grimes, W. S. Clarke, M. Conners, Charles Webber, D. A. Ryerson, G. W. Lawrence, W. B. Jacobus, William H. Pridham, Andrew Jackson, Jacob White, Joseph E. Crowell, Ogden Foxcroft, Charles A. Hopkins. The committee worked so faithfully and diligently that by the next July-but ten months from the time of their appoint- ment-they had secured enough funds which, added to the State appropriation, enabled them to dedicate the monument with appropriate ceremonies on July I, 1887, addresses being made by Major-General Henry W. Slocum, His Excellency Governor Robert S. Green, Honorable William H. Corbin, Adjutant-Gen- eral W. S. Stryker, Captain A. M. Matthews and Dr. J. J. H. Love.
The monument stands on a knoll in an open space in McAllister's woods, directly overlooking Rock Creek, the site being, as near as could be determined, exactly where the colors of the regiment stood on the third day of July, 1863. The monument is a tablet-shaped
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bowlder, seven feet high, five feet nine inches across the face, two feet ten inches thick at bottom, tapering to two feet in thickness at the top, and was constructed by the Smith Granite Company of Boston, Mass. This tablet rests on a granite support six feet six inches broad at the base, three feet in height and four feet thick, all supported by a rock foundation made of broken stone and Portland cement. The excavation for the foundation is six feet in depth below the original ground surface, and the stone work has been carried up four feet above the ground line. This pro- tects it absolutely from frost, and as there are but two immense stones in the monument itself it will require an extraordinary revulsion of nature to disturb it. The four feet of foundation above the ground surface has been concealed from view by mounding it over and sodding it carefully. The entire height of monument above original ground line is fourteen feet. The height of monument proper ten feet. On the easterly face of the stone is carved a figure, life-size, of a soldier kneel- ing and in the act of firing. He is represented as in the woods, his haversack and canteen at the foot of a tree, and all the detail of uniform and equipments faith- fully portrayed. Across the stone is the legend : "13 New Jersey Vols." The inscription on the western face is as follows :
13TH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLUNTEERS, 3D BRIGADE, IST DIVISION, 12TH CORPS.
Thirteenth Regiment, N. J. Volunteers, reached this battle-field 5 P. M. July 1, 1863, and with the brigade
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went into position on the north side of Wolf Hill. During the night occupied a position in support of Battery M., First N. Y. Artillery. July 2, in morning, held position near, Culp's Hill; in afternoon marched to relief of Third Corps near Round Top; at night returned to right of the army. July 3d occupied posi- tion marked by this monument, supporting Second Massachusetts and Twenty-seventh Indiana in their charge on Confederate flank. In evening moved to extreme right to support Gregg's Cavalry.
Killed and mortally wounded, 2; wounded, 19.
Mustered in August 25, 1862. Discharged June 8, 1865.
ENGAGEMENTS :
Antietam, 1862. Nancy's Creek, 1864.
Chancellorsville, 1863.
Peach-Tree Creek, 1864.
Gettysburg, 1863.
Siege of Atlanta, 1864.
Resaca, 1864.
March to the Sea, 1864.
Cassville, 1864.
Siege of Savannah, 1864.
Dallas, 1864.
Averysboro, 1865.
Kulp's Farm, 1864.
Bentonville, 1865.
Total losses during the war: Killed or Died of Wounds, 75. Died of Disease and in Prison, .43. Wounded, 244. Total, 362.
FIRST BRIGADE MONUMENT.
(First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifteenth Regiments Infantry.)
The monument erected to the First New Jersey Brigade is one of the most conspicuous objects on the battle-field. It represents a watch-tower and is forty
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feet in height, being constructed mainly of battle-field granite-a dark colored and exceedingly hard stone- the trimmings being of light granite. At the base the monument is eight feet thick and in the entablature in front the inscription is placed. The Sixth Corps badge-a Greek cross-is cut in the stone above and the fluted columns on each side give it the appearance of being an entrance way to the interior. Bronze medallions of General Philip Kearny, who organized the brigade, and of General A. T. A. Torbert, who commanded it at Gettysburg, are conspicuously placed, one on each side. A carved stone, weighing several tons, containing the State arms and the number by which each regiment was known, the figures being interlaced with leaves and vines, is one of the attractive features of this handsome design. While this tower marks the position of the brigade on the third day of July, each regiment has separate markers designating their position, the marker for the Fourth Regiment being placed a little south of Power's Hill, that regi- ment having been on duty with the division trains during the battle. The brigade monument was de- signed by, and the contract awarded to, the New England Monument Company of 1321 Broadway, New York. The monument bears the following inscriptions :
Front :
First Brigade, New Jersey Volunteers. Brig .- Gen. Alfred T. A. Torbert. (Ist 2d 3d 4th and 15th Regiments Infantry). Ist Brig. Ist Div. 6th Corps.
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July 2 in reserve. July 3 and 4, detached from the Corps, held this position.
Erected by the State of New Jersey, A. D. 1888, in testimony of the patriotism, courage and patient endurance of her volunteer soldiers.
Rear : " Kearny's New Jersey Brigade "
Fought in all the important battles of the Army of the Potomac from May 1861 to the end of the war at Apommattox Court House in 1865.
Total Strength 13,805, including 10th, 23d and 40th Regiments of New Jersey Volunteers which were attached to the Brigade.
FIFTH NEW JERSEY INFANTRY.
This monument located on the west side of the Emmetsburg road, just south of the Rogers house is a massive and enduring structure, and is made of Hallowell, Me., granite. The base is six feet square, and the total height fifteen feet six inches, and weighs about fifteen tons. The die or lettered piece of monu- ment rests on two bases and contains the following inscriptions :
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