The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 25

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards
Number of Pages: 1220

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" Colonel Seventh New Jersey Volunteers.

In the battle of Gettysburg Colonel Fran- cine exemplified his characteristic courage and bravery, but there received a mortal wound, from the effect of which he died in St. Joseph's Hospital, at Philadelphia, on the 19th of the same month, being conveyed there at his own request in order, as he thought, to receive the best surgical treatment. For his gallantand meritorious services on the eveutful day he received his fatal wound, he was pro- moted brigadier-general. Owing to his death he never received the commission, but it was issued and sent to the family, as indicated in the following document :

" EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C. " April 29, 1867.

" To MARCUS L. WARD, Governor of New Jersey.

Dear Sir: I have the honor herewith of trans- mitting to you the Brevet Commission of Brigadier- General for the family of Colonel Louis R. Fran- cine, 7th New Jersey Volunteers, mortally wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1863. This brevet has been conferred for the gal- lant and meritorious conduct of Colonel Francine, mentioned in my official report of the battle, and brought especially to the notice of the Secretary of War during the late session of Congress. I trust that this indication of the appreciation of Col. Francine's gallant services may prove accept- able to his family and friends. I have to ask that you will transmit this commission to his family.

"A. A. HUMPHREYS " Brig-Gen. & Chief of Engineers, Major- General of Volunteers."

General William J. Sewell, who for a time commanded the Second Brigade, gives the following estimate of Colonel Francine, and his opinion of him as a soldier :

" Col. Francine was intuitively a soldier. He was one of the conspicuous officers among the vol- unteers and had a natural love for the profession.

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

He was specially adapted to it, by reason of the severity of his own habits, being a strict discipli- narian of himself and consequently of those under him. He had an absorbing idea of the importance of the trust confided to him, and the necessity of utilizing every moment to perfect himself in all that pertains to the details of his profession, using every spare moment in the study of the higher branches of science and strategy. In a short time he became one of the leading officers in the New Jersey troops and his regiment a model of drill and discipline. His gallantry at Chancellorsville was repeated at Gettysburg, where, in the Peach Orchard, he held his regiment, in connection with the rest of the Second Brigade, under the most ter- rific storm from the combined batteries of Long- street, and when the Confederate forces in over- whelming numbers reached the Third Corps, the New Jersey brigade fell slowly back with their faces to the enemy, disputing every inch of the ground. It was here that the gallant Col. Fran- cine received a mortal wound, giving up his life to the country that he loved so well and tried so hard to save."

MAJOR EDWARD W. COFFIN was born at Hammonton, Atlantic County, N. J., on the 5th of June, 1824, and spent his early years in the vicinity of his home. On the comple- tion of his studies he engaged in glass man- nfacturing aud was thus occupied until his removal to Camden, in 1851. At this point and later in Lancaster County, Pa., he was engaged in nickel manufacturing. In 1861 he entered the United States service, having been appointed to the Subsistence Depart- ment as captain and commissary of subsist- ence. In March, 1862, he accompanied the Army of the Potomac to the James River, continuing with the advance up the Penin- sula to Yorktown, where he remained until July, 1864. Major Coffin was then ordered to Fortress Monroe in charge of the depot of supplies for the Armies of the Potomac and James and the Departments of Virginia and North Carolina. In December, 1864, he was ordered as chief of subsistence to the Fort Fisher expedition and later to the Army of the James, where he remained until Febril- ary, 1865. Major Coffin was then ordered to Yorktown and placed in command of the

county of York. He was mustered out of service in December, 1865. He was breveted major for meritorious services in the subsist- ence department, May 13, 1865. After some time spent in Arizona, Major Coffin entered the service of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad, and in 1883, when its control was secured by the Pennsylvania Railroad, was appointed division freight agent, which position he now fills.

CAPT. ABRAHAM M. BROWNING was born in Philadelphia, Pa., September 3, 1843, and was the son of Maurice and Anna A. Brown- ing. His early education was acquired under the excellent training of his uncle, Professor William Fewsmith. He afterward entered Yale College, where he was a diligent stu- dent. During his collegiate course the Civil War opened, and young Browning, with a patriotism which had characterized his an- cestors, entered the army, though but just of age, as captain of Company H, Thirty- eighth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. He was faithful in the performance of his duties, was naturally a soldier, was entrusted with the erection of fortifications, and had charge of large bodies of men, whom he handled with ease and skill.

He contracted laryngitis and died at his residence, Cherry Hill Farm, on the morning of January 12, 1880. He left a widow, Josephine Cooper Browning, daughter of the late Ralph V. M. Cooper and Louisa F., daughter of the late Dr. Joseph and Lydia H. Fyfield, of Camden. Captain Browning left four children,-Louise Cooper, Maurice Harold and Abraham Manrice.

Captain Browning was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and vestryman in Grace Protestant Episcopal Church, Had- donfield. He was a Republican in politics, and died leaving an unsullied reputation as a fearless and brave man, conscientious in every particular, strict in integrity, and few have left as pure and blameless a record as he. He was a member of the firm of Browu-

am Browning

5) REG.P.V. V

Hansell

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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.

ing Brothers, 42 and 44 North Front Street, Philadelphia.

WILLIAM C. HANSELL was born in Nor- ristown, Pa., March 19, 1845, and is a son of William S. and Margaret Cummings Hansell. He obtained his education in the schools of his native town and when but a youth, at the outbreak of the Civil War, im- bued with boyish patriotism, he enlisted September 16, 1861, in Company F of the Fifty-first Regiment of Pennsylvania Volun- teers, raised in Montgomery County, and com- manded by that distinguished soldier Major- General John F. Hartranft, afterwards Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania. In this organization our subject was a drummer-boy. The Fifty- first Regiment was assigned to the Ninth Corps, commanded by General Burnside, and accompanied the expedition to North Caro- lina and there participated in the battles of Roanoke Island, Newbern and Camden. This regiment was the first to place the colors on the Confederate breast-works defending the approaches of Newbern, and it was then given the right of the line in the advance upon that city, which immediately surrendered, being at the same time attacked by the fleet in the harbor.

Young Hansell shared the fortunes of the regiment throughout the war, being mus- tered out on the 2d of August, 1865. He marched with the gallant and sadly shattered Fifty-first 1738 miles, traveled by sea and water courses 5390 miles and by railway 3311, making the huge total of 10,439 miles of travel, most of which was under the most unfavorable conditions, accompanied by fa- tigue, hardships, harassments and dangers, such as the soldier only knows. He was present with the regiment in twenty-one bat- tles, as follows :

Roanoke Island, February 7, '62; New- bern, March 14, '62; Camden, N. C., April 19, '62; Bull Run, August 29, '62; Chan- tilly, Va., September 1, '62; South Moun- tain, September 14, '62 ; Antietam, Septem-

ber 17, '62; Fredericksburg, December 12, '62; Vicksburg, July 4, '63; Jackson, July 13, '63; Campbell Station, November 16, '63; Knoxwell, December 28, '63; Wilder- uess, May 6, '64; Spottsylvania, May 12, '64; North Anna, May 25,'64 ; Cold Harbor, June 3, '64 ; Petersburg, June 17 and 18, '64; Petersburg, July 30, '64; Yellow Tav- ern, August 19, '64; Ream's Station, August 21, '64; Petersburg, April 1, '65.

At the close of the war Mr. Hansell re- mained in Washington and engaged in busi- ness in that city for one and a half years and then came to Camden, where he has since re- sided. He was under the employ of John S. Read, in his paper store on Federal Street, for a few years, and in 1868 was appointed messenger to the First National Bank of Camden and held that position with the full confidence of the directors of the institution until 1876, when he retired in order to en- gage in business for himself. During the year named he opened a paper store at 203 Market Street, Camden, where, by his own business ability and energy, he has built up and continued to enjoy a prosperous trade, having filled large contracts for papering houses in Camden and elsewhere.

In 1867 Mr. Hansell was married to Miss Lizzie Hemsing, daughter of Wm. Hemsing, of Camden. They have one child, Carrie.

At the annual reunion of the survivors present of the Fifty-first Regiment held in Petersburg, Va., in 1885, Mr. Hansell was chosen vice-president. This meeting was held in the crater which was formed at the time of the famous "mine explosion," July 30, 1864. The reunion at that place was brought about at the suggestion of Mr. Han- sell. He is a member of the Union Veteran Legion, of which only soldiers who have served two years can become members.

THE DRAFT .- The exigencies of the Civil War compelled the passage of the Conscrip- tion Act by the Congress of the United

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

States, approved by the President March 3, 1863. To execute this act the loyal States were divided into sections correspond- ing to their Congressional districts, and a board of enrolment was established in each. These boards were composed of a provost- marshal, surgeon and commissioner, of which the provost-marshals were presidents, and before which daily all questions relating to the conscription were brought for discussion and were decided by a majority vote of the board.

The first Congressional district of New Jersey at that date was composed of six conn- ties, viz., Camden, Atlantic, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland and Cape May. The appointment of the officials of the board of enrolment for this district was by law vested in the President of the United States, but virtually was exercised by the member of Congress at that time, the Hon. John F. Starr, of Camden, who, during this trying period, played a disinterested patriotism worthy of all praise. The personnel of the board during the little over two years of its existence was as follows, viz. : Colonel Rob- ert C. Johnson, of Salem, provost-marshal from May 2, 1863, to March 24, 1864. He was succeeded by Captain Alexander Wentz, of Woodbury, who was appointed April 25, 1864, and was honorably discharged November 15, 1865. Dr. John R. Steven- son was commissioned surgeon May 2, 1863, served until the close of the war and was honorably discharged June 15, 1865. Col- onel James M. Scovel was commissioner from May 2, 1863, until November 27th, of the same year, when he resigned, and Philip J. Gray was appointed to the vacancy December 8, 1863, and was honorably discharged April 30, 1865. In addition to these, the provost- marshal had authority toappoint two depu- ties and one special officer. The first two were Captain Henry M. Jewett, of Winslow, and Captain Aaron Ward, of Camden ; Ben- jamin F. Sweeten, of the latter place, was

special officer. All these served until the close of the war. The law provided that, when necessary, assistant surgeons might be selected to aid the surgeon. Under this pro- vision Dr. H. Genet Taylor was appointed assistant surgeon in June, 1864, and contiu- ued until the close of the conscription, in April, 1865. For a short period in the au- tumn of 1864, Dr. Jonathan Leaming, of Cape May, also aided in the medical exami- nations.

The headquarters of the board of enrol- ment were directed to be located in Camden. They were established in the second and third floors of Hall, at the northwest cor- ner of Fourth and Market Streets. This building being too small to accommodate the public, the office was removed, in the spring of 1864, to Morgan's Hall, on the southeast corner of the same streets. The rendezvous where the recruits and the guard were quar- tered was the hall at the northeast corner of Fourth and Federal Streets. During the ex- amination of the drafted men of Cumberland and Cape May Counties, in June and in Angust, 1864, the board held its sessions in Millville, Cumberland County, in an unoccu- pied store and warehouse.

The first draft in the district was madein May,. 1864, under the call of the President for three hundred thousand men, issued October 17, 1863. In Camden it was executed with the greatest publicity and visible fairness, in a small frame house (since demolished) upon the north side of Market Street, below Third, in front of which an open stand was erected. A list of all the enrolled men in the district was copied and, together with the slips of pa- per upon which each name was separately written, were handed to a committee of citi- zens who had been appointed at the boards' request to conduct the drawing. These slips were placed by a citizen in the wheel which another turned, while a third drew out the papers and read the names to the assembled people. No show of force was made, the

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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.

armed guard having been left behind at the office. Not a murmur of disapproval or dis- satisfaction was heard from the multitude.

But very few of the drafted men were in- voluntarily forced into the army. The wealth- ier ones put in substitutes. The remainder either volunteered or their places were filled by other volunteers, all of whom were induced to enlist by the payment of a bounty by the township.

All males between twenty and forty-five years of age were liable to do military duty ; therefore, all within those ages in the First District were enrolled. Foreigners who had not taken out naturalization papers, nor de- clared their intention to become citizens, were exempt. With this exception, there was no escape except by reason of physical disability. The total number of men examined by the surgeons during the existence of the provost- marshal's office in Camden was 7883. Of these, 2215 were drafted men, of whom 1243 were accepted. Of the enrolled men not yet drafted, 1605 applied either to have their names stricken from the rolls because they thought themselves unfit for service or else desired to enlist. Of these, 827 were found to be fit for duty. The number of substi- tutes offered was 2305, and 1242 were ac- cepted. In addition to those, 48 discharged wounded soldiers were re-enlisted in the Vet- eran Reserve Corps, making a total of 4371 men placed in the army and navy from the First Congressional District of New Jersey.

SUMMARY OF BATTLES. - In the four years of service, the armies of the Union- counting every form of conflict, great and small-had been in twenty-two hundred and sixty-five engagements with the Confederate troops. From the time when active hostili- ties began until the last gun of the war was fired, a fight of some kind-a raid, a skir- mish or a pitched battle-occurred at some point on our widely-extended front nearly eleven times a week, upon an average. Count- ing only those engagements in which the

Union loss, in killed, wounded and missing exceeded one hundred, the total number was three hundred and thirty. From the north- ernmost point of contact to the southernmost the distance by any practicable line of com- munication was more than two thousand miles. From east to west the extremes were fifteen hundred miles apart. During the first year of hostilities-one of prepara- tion on both sides-the battles were naturally fewer in number and less decisive in charac- ter than afterwards, when discipline had been imparted to the troops by drill, and when the materiel of war had been collected and stored for prolonged campaigns. The en- gagements of all kinds in 1861 were thirty- five in number, of which the most serious was the Union defeat at Bull Run. In 1862 the war had greatly increased in magnitude and intensity, as is shown by the eighty-four engagements between the armies. The net result of the year's operations was highly favorable to the Rebellion. In 1863 the battles were one hundred and ten in number -among them some of the most significant and important victories for the Union. In 1864 there were seventy-three engagements, and in the winter and early spring of 1865 there were twenty-eight.1

It is estimated that during the war fifty- six thousand Union soldiers were killed in battle and about thirty-five thousand died in hospitals of wounds and one hundred and eighty-four thousand by disease. The total casualties, if we inelude those who died sub- sequent to their discharge, were about three hundred thousand. The loss of Confederates in battle was less, owing to the fact that they were fighting on the defensive, but they lost more from wounds and disease on account of inferior sanitary arrangements. The total loss of life caused by the war for the preser- vation of the Union exceeded half a million, and nearly as many were disabled.

12 Blaine's "Twenty Years of Congress," 20.

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

NORTHERN MEN IN SERVICE .- The calls, periods of service and number of men ob- tained during the Civil War from the North- ern States were as follows :

Number

Period of

Number.

Date of Call.

called.

Service.

obtained.

April 15, 1861 75,000

3 months

93,326

May and July, 1861 .. 582,748 3 years

714,231

May and June, 1862

3 months

15,007

July 2, 1862 300,000

3 years

431,958 .

August 4, 1862. .300,000

9 months

87,588

June 15, 1863 100,000

6 months

16,361

October 17, 1863. 300,000

3 years )

374,807

February 1, 1864 200,000

3 years f

284,021

April 23, 1864 85,000

100 days

83,652

July 18, 1864. .500,000

1, 2 and 3 yrs. 384,882

1, 2 and 3 yrs. 204,568

December 19, 1864 .. 300,000 2,942,748

2,690,401

The following statement, as appears by the report at the office of Adjutant-General Wil- liam S. Stryker, at Trenton, for 1865, ex- hibits the number of men called for, the number of men furnished by New Jersey and their term of enlistment from April 17, 1861, to April 20, 1865.

Number of men furnished for four years. ... 155

three years ... 42,572

two years. ... 2,243

one year ...... 16,812

66 nine months. 10,787

three months 3,105

100 days. ... 700

" uot classified. 2,973

Credited to State.

79,348

Furnished but not credited 8,957

Total 88,305

More men offered their services than the State had authority to accept, and so those who, although they had preferred to enlist in New Jersey organizations, went into regi- ments of other States. Six full companies of New Jersey troops entered into the Excelsior Brigade of New York, commanded by Gen- eral Sickles ; others enlisted in the Forty- eighth New York Infantry, the One Hun- dred and Twelfth Pennsylvania Heavy Ar- tillery, Anderson's Cavalry Troop, the

Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, First New York Cavalry, Company A, Twentieth New York Volunteers, Bramhall's Battery, Ninth New York State Militia. Two full companies also entered in Serrill's Engineers, and the State lost the credit on her quota.

RECEPTION OF RETURNED SOLDIERS IN 1864 .- A convention of loyal men of New Jersey assembled at Newark, the 30th of May, 1864, and determined to give the re- turning soldiers of New Jersey a suitable reception in their respective counties, on the 4th of July, same year. James M. Scovel represented the county of Camden. Accord- ingly, the soldiers of this county arranged for a celebration at Haddonfield, to take place in the grove of John Hopkins, on the above date .. It was estimated that there were five thousand people present, all of whom were amply fed from the bountiful tables prepared under the management of the committee of arrangements.

The Union League of Camden acted as an escort to the soldiers from Camden City. One feature of the procession was a color guard composed almost entirely of one-armed men. General George M. Robeson made the speech of welcome, which was greatly applauded ; P. C. Brinck read the Declara- tion of Independence; Major Calhoun, on the part of the soldiers, returned thanks for the honor done them; Hon. James S. Scovel, C. T. Reed, Rev. Mr. Dobbins made patriotic remarks on the occasion ; the ladies were ac- tive in their attention to the returned soldiers of the county.

WOMEN'S WORK IN THE WAR .- The same spirit which prompted the soldiers to go to the front, kindled the noble and gener- ous efforts of devoted and patriotic women at home to aid and contribute to the comfort of the former. They formed, in Camden, the Ladies' Aid Society, the Ladies' Relief Association, and not only contributed largely toward these organizations in money, but also

March 14, 1864. 200,000

3 years

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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.

gave their time and attention and partici- pated in the grand results arising from the great Sanitary Fair.

The great Central Fair of the Sanitary Commission of the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware was opened, in Philadelphia, on the 7th of June, 1864, with appropriate ceremonies. Addresses were made by the Governors of the three States named. The fair was the great object of at- traction from its opening to its close, on June 28th. It realized for the commission over one million and eighty thousand dollars.

It has been asserted by the chronicles of the day that New Jersey exhibited the most interesting relics in the fair.

THE CAMDEN AUXILIARY TO THE SANITARY FAIR .- On Monday evening, April 10th, 1864, a large meeting of the prominent citizens of Camden was held at the dwelling of R. B. Potts, on Cooper Street, in Camden, at which Judge Thos. P. Carpenter acted as chairman and Mr. Farr as secretary.

Resolutions were passed to organize an efficient auxiliary to assist in the Great Fair to be held in Philadelphia, and to invoke the assistance of the ladies of Camden City and County in the enterprise, on the next Thurs- day evening, with the assistance of the ladies, a plan of operations was introduced and matured which gave assured promise that the patriotic citizens of Camden County would make the enterprise a successful one.

The name of "The West Jersey Auxil- iary" was adopted. An executive committee had been appointed, and by the 18th of April, only eight days after the inception of the enterprise, rooms had been secured at No. 104 Market Street, Camden, and every workshop, factory and mill in Camden sent to these rooms the best specimens of their

workmanship. Every farmer, workingman and mechanic poured into the general fund large contributions of manufactured articles, or the products of the soil that could be turned into money, and again from money into the means of encouraging the health and life of the soldiers. The patriotic ladies of Camden were not idle, and through their as- sistance and efforts large sums came into the treasury of the commission from every quarter of the county. The mothers and daughters, wives and sisters of New Jersey's sons were energetic in their efforts to secure aid and assistance. These ladies opened their houses for entertainments of various kinds. At these parlor entertainments were

GREAT CENTRAL FAIR BUILDING, 1804.

given charades, tableaux, etc. ; volunteer per- formers and amateurs took part. The City Halls were tendered free to the committee on entertainments, immense concerts were given, and a generous public displayed great liberality in purchasing tickets. The Ladies' Aid Society and other relief associations which had been in successful operation for three years joined their efforts with the Auxiliary and collected large supplies of clothing, blankets, stockings and other materials use- ful to the men in military duty away from home, and during the entire period of the war these ladies were actively engaged in

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

collecting and forwarding from their depot in Camden tous of materials for the benefit of the soldiers.

Captain Samuel Hufty was appointed to take charge of the donations at General Depot No. 4, Market Street.

The Executive Committee consisted of P. J. Grey (chairman), Hon. Thomas P. Carpen- ter, James H. Stevens, Henry B. Wilson, E. V. Glover and John D. Tustin.

The following gentlemen of the county were honorary members of this Auxiliary : Alex. G. Cattell, of Merchantville; W. S. McCallister, Gloucester City ; W. C. Milli- gan, Haddonfield ; Charles H. Shinn, Had- donfield.

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The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 25

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards Number of Pages: 1220

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards
Number of Pages: 1220