USA > New Jersey > Camden County > The history of Camden county, New Jersey > Part 15
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2 They left Trenton without a round of ammunition. Captain Charles P. Smith was sent to New York that day to procure it, but was unsuccessful, until a Mr. Blunt, a dealer on Broadway, agreed to let him have a certain quantity of cartridges and percussion caps on his personal security. He reached Jersey City with a dray-load, notwithstanding the New York authorities had prohibited any ammunition from being taken from the city. There he had a controversy with the railroad officials, who refused to take such freight on a passen- ger train, but compromised by allowing it to he packed in an iron crate, which was towed a long way astern of
1 This was the first official tender of a company made in the State. Foster says that the first regimental offer was made on the same day, when Lieutenant-Colonel V. R. Matthews, commanding the First Regiment, Hunter- don Brigade, wrote to the Governor proffering their ser- vices. The first individual offer, according to Governor Olden's records, was that of General Joseph W. Revere, of the Morris Brigade, who, in January, 1861, tendered his services in any capacity in which they might be re- quired. This offer was renewed and accepted on April 17th.
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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
Butler ordered its advance to Washington, and on the 5th the First Regiment, with six companies of the Second and nine companies of the Third, started forward in two trains of cars. The first of these trains reached Washington abont midnight, and the second at eight o'clock the following morning. The same evening the Fourth Regiment and the remaining company of the Third arrived at the capital. The four companies of the Sec- ond left at Annapolis, were detailed to guard the telegraph and railroad between Annapo- lis Junction, and were left without tents and almost without a commissariat for a month.
On May 6th the arrival of the brigade was reported to General Scott, and no camps being provided, the troops went into snch quarters as were available in Washington. " On all sides," says Foster, "their arrival was hailed with pleasure. Men felt that now the capital was safe. These three thousand Jerseymen, thoroughly armed and equipped, as no regiments previously arrived, had been, could be relied upon to repel all assaults. New Jersey never stood higher in the estima- tion of the loyal people of the country than at that juncture, when she sent to the na- tion's defense the first full brigade of troops that reached the field." On May 7th the command marched past the White House, where it was reviewed by President Lincoln and General Scott. On the 9th the Fourth Regiment moved ont to Camp Monmouth, on Meridian Hill, where it was soon joined by the other regiments, and on the 12th the camp was visited by the President and Sec- retaries Chase and Seward, Mr. Lincoln com- plimenting the troops on their soldierly ap- pearance. They remained at Camp Mon- month, perfecting their drill and discipline,
the train. At 10.30 that night Captain Smith reached Camden, where a tug was in waiting for him. The flotilla with the brigade was intercepted as it was pass- ing the city ; he transferred the crate to the various ves- sels, and its contents were served out to the men as they went on down the Delaware.
until the 23d, when the Second, Third and Fourth Regiments (the First following the next day) crossed the Potomac into Virginia, and on the Washington and Alexandria road, at a most important strategic point, con- structed and mounted with heavy guns a strong defensive work, which, in honor of their brigadier, they named Fort Runyon. It was the first regular fortification built by the national troops. The brigade remained in this vicinity until July 16th, when it was moved forward a few miles, and placed in the First Reserve Division, to which had also been assigned the First, Second and Third New Jersey (three years') Regiments, which had reached the field a few days previous to the movement. The First (three months') Regi- ment was ordered to a point on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, three miles beyond Springfield, to guard the track repairs. On the same day four hundred and twenty-five men of the Third Regiment were detailed to escort a provision train, and a portion of the Fourth was charged with guarding another section of the railroad. . One company of the latter regiment was then guarding the Long Bridge, and still another was on duty at Ar- lington Mills, while the remainder was or- dered to Alexandria with the Second (three months') Regiment. Colonel Taylor, com- manding the Third (three years') Regiment, was at the same time instructed to march to a point on the Orange and Alexandria Rail- road, and during the night following, the First and Second (three years') Regiments were moved forward to Vienna. On the 17th orders were issued to all the regiments in the command to provide themselves with two days' cooked rations, and on the 18th, General Runyon assumed command of all the troops not on the march to the front.
These dispositions were in view of the bat- tle of Bull Run, which was fought and lost by the Union army on July 21st. The near- est that any of the Jersey troops came to par- ticipation in it, was that the First and Second
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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
(three years') Regiments and the First (three months') Regiment were marched toward Centreville during the day, and that the two first-named reached the town in season to ar- rest with fixed bayonets the rush of thou- sands of panic-stricken fugitives toward Washington, and rally them into something like order. They performed this duty most faithfully and the value of their services was fully recognized by General McDowell.
On July 24th the Third and Fourth Reg- iments, their term of enlistment having ex- pired, were ordered to report to General Mansfield to be mustered out. The First and Second received the same orders on the following day ; and after being formally dis- charged the brigade returned home to New Jersey, where it was accorded an enthusiastic reception. A majority of the men re-enlisted in the long-term regiments and were back in the field before they had time to forget a movement of the manual of arms.
It has been estimated that in the early months of the war fully five thousand citizens of New Jersey enlisted in New York, Phila- delphia and elsewhere in the regiments of other States. They were bent upon entering the army, and as the three months' quota of New Jersey was already filled, they songht service outside. Whole companies were thus transferred to neighboring States and their identity as Jersey commands thus lost. They cannot now be traced, but it may be mentioned that the renowned Excelsior Brigade of New York embraced many Jersey soldiers in its ranks. An unknown number of Camden County men crossed the river, and in Phila- delphia enrolled themselves in commands of the Keystone State.
The following is the official roster of the six companies of the Fourth Regiment of three months' troops raised in Camden County :
COMPANY C.
Captain. Edmund G. Jackson.
First Lieutenant. William R. Maxwell.
Ensign. William H. Hemsing. First Sergeant. Benjamin Connelly. Sergeants.
Rudolph Tenner. John W. Moore,
David D. Helm.
Corporals.
William Rogers.
Samuel Ratcliff.
George W. Jackson. William D. Miller.
Fifer. George Jauss.
Drummer. Charles Hoy.
James Albright.
Robert H. Ames.
John Lezenby.
Joseph Bazarth.
William Loel.
Anthony Bernard.
Alfred Martin.
James G. Boileau. Cornelius Brown.
Frank McCammon.
William Morris.
John Brown. Charles B. Capewell. Thomas Carr.
Francis Mount. Davis H. Nichols.
George S. Patterson. John P. Price.
William H. Carson.
Jesse C. Chew. William H. H. Clark.
Richard J. Robertson.
Charles H. Rogers.
John Clevenger.
William H. Schwaab.
William P. Copeland. Collin Coutts.
August Scior. Richard Smith.
Dilwyn Cowperthwaite. John O. Crowell. Charles Davis.
Charles Spooner. Savillion A. Steinmetz. Andrew H. Stilwell.
Elijah T. Davis.
Stacy Stockton.
Clayton Edwards.
William A. Fish.
John Sweesley. Edward Thornton.
James H. Townsend. Theodore Vansciver.
Andrew J. Wallace.
Joshua Wallens. John W. Wetherby.
Joseph M. White. Thomas White.
Thomas Whittaker.
William S. Hineline.
Alfred Horner.
Willard Howe.
George W. Wood.
COMPANY D.
Captain.
Joseph B. Strafford.
Henry Frost. Jacob Gerhart.
Charles G. P. Goforth. John R. Grubb. Josiah Harley.
William H. Helams. Thomas Henderson. Walter Hill.
Charles Wilson.
Isaac F. Wright.
Privates. Edward A. Johnston.
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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
First Lieutenant. John Cavanaugh. Ensign. Ferdinand Mc Williams. First Sergeant. Patrick Reiley. Sergeants.
Arnold S. Shailer. James Conley.
Edward Corcoran.
Peter Rancom.
John E. Droham.
John Sing.
Robert M. Wible. Edward J. Cassady.
Corporals.
Michael Dunn. Peter Megary.
Joseph S, Strafford. Franklin Lightcap.
Drummer. John O'Brien.
Privates.
Privates.
William H. Ackerson. George H. Manson.
William Bisbing.
Peter McAdams.
George W. Armstrong.
Robert Kell.
Suffaray J. Blanc.
James McCaffrey.
Hugh Beaty.
Jacob F. Kihule.
Nicholas Brady.
James McCann.
James Beaty.
James McComb.
Theodore Brick. James McCormick.
Alexander Bryson.
James McGrovy.
Charles P. Bowyer.
John H. Morris.
James Byers.
Alexander McHenry. James McManus.
Joseph T. Burdsall.
Joseph D. Parker. Samuel Peers.
Michael E. Callahan.
Owen Mullen.
William A. Coles.
Edward Noble.
William J. Coles.
William Norton.
Henry Conlen.
John O'Neil.
Lewis W. Drummond.
John Pinkerton. John A. Quigley.
Michael Corcoran.
Francis C. Orens.
William Fennimore.
John R. Rich.
George W. Crammer. Thomas Dugan.
Aaron Peterson.
Charles Fish.
Albion V. Salisbury. Benjamin Sands.
Patrick Early.
Robert Redfield.
Howard Fisler.
Jeremiah Saunders.
James Finnegan.
James Rowbottom.
Charles Fox.
Charles C. Sharp.
James Flynn.
Aaron Stone.
John W. Garwood.
Joseph D. Smith.
Charles Gannon.
Ambrose Strong.
Christian A. Gross.
Edward H. Stackhouse.
John Gannon.
Arthur Toole. Peter Toole.
Charles Hahn.
Joseph Strock. William H. Thompson.
Thomas Goodman.
Peter Warburton.
David D. Hamell.
John Thornton.
James Jobes.
Josiah L. Ward.
John W. Hart.
Mordecai Tyler.
William Kaine. Thomas Keegan.
James White.
William Helmuth.
William B. Warford. Joseph M. Webb.
Daniel Kinney.
John J. White. Peter White.
Count De G. Hogan.
Levi A. Westcott.
George Leeming.
George Whitehead.
George W. Jobes.
Benjamin Wilson.
John Lynch. William Lynch.
William H. Wyant.
John L. Johnson.
Brazier Wiltsey.
Samuel. Wynn.
Alexander Johnson.
William Wiltsey.
COMPANY E. Captain. Isaac W. Mickle. First Lieutenant. Philip M. Armington.
Ensign. Timothy C. Moore. First Sergeant. John M. Collins. Sergeants. Benjamin D. Cooley. Henry Carels. Samuel B. Jobes.
Corporals.
Fifer. Emanuel Joseff.
Drummer.
Philip Joseff.
John Burns. Michael McGrovy.
Joseph D. Brown.
James Morrissey.
Patrick Byers.
Henry Carse.
Richard Church.
John Cole.
Thomas Pickering. Benjamin A. Pine. Isaac J. Pine.
Henry Conerty.
James O'Reiley.
John Pepper.
Joseph W. Fernandez.
Oliver H. Ritchson.
Thomas Eagen.
Robert Quigley.
Charles Fisher.
Hugh H. Gorman.
William B. Haines.
John Hill.
Stephen A. Lane.
Patrick Waters.
Patrick Cunningham.
Lemuel Edwards.
Abraham Morely.
Thomas H. Bishop.
George B. Anderson. Joseph E. Jones,
COMPANY F. ! Captain. Edward Price Hunt. First Lieutenant. , Richard H, Lee .!
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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
Ensign. Theodore A. Zimmerman. First Sergeant. Theodore W. Field. Sergeants. Charles J. Field. Chas. G. Zimmerman.
Joseph C. Lee.
Corporals.
Chas. F. Miller, Jr. Charles F. Dickenson.
Chas. J. T. Saunders. Geo. A. S. Drisback. Fifer. Michael Hartzell.
Drummer. Joseph Rodgers.
Privates.
James V. Anderson.
Joseph G. Betts.
William Bosworth.
William L. Kaighn.
John Beideman.
William H. Kaighn.
John P. Bronford.
Joseph Kelly.
Henry Bruist.
George W. King.
Albert M. Buck.
Charles P. Bundick.
John G. Lewallen.
Edmond Carels.
William C. Lee.
James Burkett.
Charles Lownsbury.
Thomas E. D. Carter. John M. Chillman. Bartholomew Clarke.
Stevenson Leslie.
Jacob S. Levan.
George Cairoli.
John McKinley.
Benjamin Cavanaugh.
Edward H. Mead.
Edwin Mitchell.
Alpheus Davis.
Howard Moore.
David Davis.
Lorenzo F. Park.
Edward Mackey.
Samuel H. Davis.
John Quick.
John T. Redfern.
James B. Scott.
Alexander T. Francisco. Charles B. Fraser.
Edward Sewell. William Shurdon.
Lewis Smith. George W. Souder.
John Sourren.
James Staneley.
Francis A. Street.
William F. Tarr.
James Thompson. Edward Van Stavoren. Isaac Waar.
George L. White. John Wilson.
Richard Wilson.
Theodore F. Wilson.
Richard T. Wood.
COMPANY G.
Captain. John R. Cunningham. First Lieutenant. Lewis M. Morris.
Ensign. Joseph L. De La Cour. First Sergeant. William W. Mines. Sergeants.
John K. Brown. George Holl.
Henry Daniels, Jr.
Corporals.
Henry F. Surault. William Pell, Jr.
James M. Lane. Isaac Wood.
Fifer. William Howard. Drummer. William Brassell. Privates.
Benjamin F. King. Barton Lane.
William N. Buzby.
Thomas M. K. Lee, Jr.
Lewis Buzine.
James Massey.
Isaac Clark.
Edward Livermore. Thomas A. Locke. John E. Loeb. William T. Long.
James McClernon.
Timothy L. Middleton.
William Morton.
John Naphy. John T. Ogden. Benjamin W. Perkins.
Samuel M. Price. Henry Rauser.
George M. Rodgers.
Albert Smith. Henry Smith.
John T. Smith.
Charles C. Stezer.
Austin E. Vanarsdale. John Wescoat.
Henry Williams.
Samuel Williams.
Thomas P. Williams.
Henry Gallagher.
Samuel W. Gahan. Samuel Gilbert.
Charles E. Githens.
William Gleason. William H. Griffin. James Hartley. Charles Helmuth. Samuel Hickman. John Hildebrandt. Isaac N. Hoey.
Joseph Hofflinger. Abednego Howeth. . William Inman.
COMPANY H.
Captain. John P. Van Leer. First Lieutenant. George E. Wilson.
13
R. Graham Clark. Jacob W. Clements. John Clements. Charles Clendenning. Oliver K. Collins. Robert T. Cox. Burton Davis. Ethelbert Davis. John P. Ducas. Samuel H. Elders.
Joseph H. Ewing.
William H. Eyles. Joseph B. Garwood. Josiah B. Giberson. Charles Gilbert. Harvey B. Goodwin. Joseph E. Gregory. Richard C. Haines. John M. Henderson. Leander Houghtaling. Charles E. Hugg. Joseph S. Hugg.
Joseph Immon. William T. Jacoby.
A. George M. Ashley. Charles H. Jewell.
George Baxter. Edward Johnson.
George Bloomfield.
William Cox.
Edward F. Duffy.
Frank B. Fox.
98
HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
Ensign. John Willian. First Sergeant. James A. Duddy. Sergeants.
Joseph R. Giddings. Joseph B. Davis. Joseph P. Busha.
Corporals.
Joseph Morton. Aden W. Powell.
Daniel W. Giddings. Thomas B. Jordan.
Fifer. Robert Berryman.
Drummer. John P. Booth.
Henry Astley.
Eli Bailey.
William Lanagan.
Jesse F. Bailey.
Matthew Larney.
Thomas Bates, Jr.
John Loynd.
John Berryman.
Abram Martin.
Henry Black.
John E. Maxwell.
James P. Britton.
Louis Matkensy.
William M. Metz.
William Burroughs.
William Moss.
Thomas Calvert.
John O'Mara.
Joseph Cheeseman.
Samuel Ogden. John Osborn.
James M. Cramer.
Eli Crammer.
William Dennington. John Dill.
John Dimon.
Edgar Roby.
William Robust.
Thomas D. Ross. John Smith.
William D. Smith.
William Groves.
Robert Spink.
Andrew Harker.
Thomas B. Thompson.
Henry Harley.
James G. Tomlinson.
Alexander Harvey.
James Totten.
John Herron.
Augustus Van Fossen.
Benjamin W. Hill.
Joel Whitehead.
George H. Holmes.
William Williamson.
Michael Hoover.
Joseph Wollard. Frederick Young.
Edgar Hudson.
Charles Hulings.
Peter V. Brown.
Charles Jess.
John C. King.
Steward M. Hawkins. William J. Stone.
FIRST BRIGADE THREE YEARS' TROOPS. -President Lincoln and his advisers did not long entertain the notion, so prevalent up to, and even after the firing upon Sumter, that the war would be ended and the Southern
Confederacy subdued before the summer was well advanced. April had not indeed run out its course before the President was made, by the logic of events, to comprehend that a long and desperate civil conflict must be prepared for and that it would require a tre- mendous draft upon the men and. money of the nation to save it from total wreck. The day for temporizing and half-way military measures had flown by, and on May 3, 1861, the President called for thirty-nine regiments of infantry and one of cavalry to serve for three years or during the war. Although the number of men thus summoned was so small in comparison with the hosts of later years, the length of the term of enlistment is evi- dence that the government at last appreciated the magnitude of its task. Governor Olden did not receive the requisition upou New Jersey, which was for three regiments of infantry, until the 17th. More than enough companies were organized and awaiting the mustering officer, and the Governor, in an- nouncing this fact to the War Department, added that " If the occasion required their services, this State would willingly furnish twice as many regiments to serve during the war."
From these companies were formed the First, Second and Third Regiments of the three years' service. They were furnished with camp and garrison equipage by the State, but were armed by the United States. Company E, Captain Charles N. Pelouze, of the First Regiment, Colonel William R. Montgomery, and Company B, Captain Henry C. Gibson, of the Third, Colonel George W. McLean, were Camden County volunteers. The three regiments left Trenton on June 28th, and reported to General Scott at Washington on the following day. Their movements up to and on the day of the bat- tle of Bull Run have been recorded in the history of the three months' men. After that engagement the First and Second went into camp near Alexandria, and thither the
Edward Ellis.
Joseph S. Garretson.
.Joseph Garwood.
John Groves.
Franklin Pike.
Nathan Rambo.
Henry Rementer.
John Brown.
Privates. Charles E. Lancaster.
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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
Third was ordered from Fairfax, where it had been posted during the battle.
On July 24th Governor Olden was notified that the government would accept five addi- tional regiments, " to be taken, as far as con- venient, from the three months' men and officers just discharged ; and to be organized, equipped and sent forward as fast as single regiments are ready, on the same terms as were those already in service." The Fourth Regiment, Colonel James H. Simpson, with which Williain R. Hatch, of Camden, went out as major and was promoted to colonel, was mustered on August 20th, and, with Captain William Hexamer's battery, was forwarded to the front on the 21st. It com- prised in part four full companies raised in Camden County as follows: A, Captain Charles Meves ; F, Captain Napoleon B. Aaronson ; G, Captain Henry M. Jewett ; and H, Captain John Reynolds. The regi- ment camped with the First, Second and Third near Alexandria, and the four were early in August combined as the First New Jersey Brigade and placed under the com- mand of that illustrious and danutless soldier, General Philip Kearny, who had already distinguished himself as a fighter in Mexico, Algeria and Italy, and against the Indians on the frontier, and whose death at the battle of Chantilly, August 30, 1862, was to deprive the army of a commander in whom military skill and personal courage combined to form the ideal brigadier. In recalling the grand reputation which this brigade achieved under Kearny and other chiefs, it is a most proper cause for local pride that Camden County contributed to its ranks six full companies that shared in its perils, its victories and its honors. They were among the meu who had so endeared themselves to his lion heart, that when he was offered the command of Sumner's division he refused to accept it because he would not be permitted to take his Jersey regiments with him.
:
The Third Regiment received its baptism
of fire in an ambuscade in which it fell at Cloud's Mills on August 29th, and on Sep- tember 29th, Kearny had the whole brigade out for a reconnoissance of the enemy's lines at Mason's Hill. On October 14th a detach- ment of the First emptied several saddles of a Confederate cavalry force which it encoun- tered, and lost three or four killed. After spending the winter inactively the brigade, which was attached to General William B. Frauklin's division, was, on March 7, 1862, pushed towards Manassas, the First Regi- ment, which had been the last to leave Cen- treville on the retreat of July 21, 1861, having the honor of being the first to occupy the place on the second advance.
On the 10th the brigade colors were unfurled over the abandoned Confederate works at Manassas, eight companies of the Third leading the advance. On McClellan's preparations to trausfer the army to the Virginia Peninsula the Jersey regiments, which had been placed in the First Division of the First Army Corps, moved to Catlett's Station, where they remained from April 7th to the 11th, when they retraced their steps to Alexandria and embarked for York Point, York River, on the 17th. May 5th they advanced to West Point under command of Colonel Taylor, Kearny having been pro- moted to the command of the division, and on the night of that day the First Regiment captured at a charge and held a position which two New York regiments had proved unable to maintain. Its gallantry was testi- fied to by a correspondent of the New York Times, who wrote that " The line was as firm as a division in a column at review. Colonel McAllister, when the enemy broke, bravely pursued them some distance. This firm and determined movement decided the result, and the rebels made good their retreat."
These minor plays on the great chess-board of the campaign had fitted Taylor and his men for the first of the important battles in which they were destined to enter. On June
100
HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
27th they left camp on the south side of the Chickahominy River, and crossing that dark and sluggish stream at Woodbury's bridge, plunged into the thick of the fight at Gaines' Mills, where Fitz-John Porter's and Mc- Call's lines were giving way under the impact of the enemy's pressure. Swinging full into the face of the Confederate musketry and artillery fire, the brigade fought the rebels at a distance of four hundred yards and was badly hurt, until Taylor ordered a charge that drove them out of the woods into an open field, where he met their reserves and was compelled to fall back. The Fourth Regiment, four companies of which were Camden men, was sent into the woods by order of one of Mcclellan's aids, and there sustained the brunt of a fight at close quarter's. Five hundred of its number were taken prisoners. Colonel Simpson was one of the unfortunates, and in letters dated from prison in Richmond he thus described the action and sequel,- .
"The regiment was posted in the wood to sustain the centre in the battle near Gaines' Mill, and nobly did it hold its ground until about an hour after the right and left wings of the army had fallen back. Mine and the Eleventh Connecticut were the last to leave the front, and only did so when we found that the rest of the army had given way and we were literally surrounded by the infantry and batteries of the Confederate forces. Being in the woods, and trusting to our su- perior officers to inform us when to retreat, and not being able to see, on account of the woods, what was going on towards our right and left, we continned fighting an hour, probably, after every other regiment had left the ground. The consequence was inevitable. We were surrounded by ten times our number, and though we could have fought until every man of us was slain, yet humanity, and, as I think, wisdom, dictated that we should at last yield."
In a subsequent letter to his wife, Colonel Simpson stated that fifty-three enlisted men were killed and one hundred and twenty-one wounded, out of the six hundred whom he took into action. Captain Meves, of Com- pany A, was killed, and Lieutenant Charles
Meyer, of the same company, wounded. The brigade had gone into the fight with twenty- eight hundred in its ranks, and but nine hundred and sixty-five answered to their names when the roll was called in camp at midnight. The First Regiment lost twenty- one killed, including Major David Hatfield, seventy-eight wounded and sixty missing. The Third had thirty-four killed, one hun- dred and thirty-six wounded and thirty-five missing. Lientenant-Colonel McAllister, in his report of the participation of the former command in the battle, spoke of Captain Pelouze, of the Camden company, as one of whom " too much cannot be said in praise."
During the night after the battle the shat- tered brigade recrossed to the right bank of the Chickahominy, and at midnight of the 28th took up the line of retreat by way of Savage Station and White Oak Swamp to James River. A sharp fight occurred at White Oak Creek, where the Jerseymen oc- cupied a position of peril between the oppos- ing lines, and were lucky to escape damage by hugging the ground as the shells flew over them. They passed Malvern Hill on July 1st without being called into the battle then rag- ing, and reached Harrison's Landing, on the James River, on the morning of the 2d.
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