1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry was an American Civil War
Union Army
regiment
of infantry
from New Jersey
that served in the Army of the Potomac
.
It was recruited and mustered into Federal service in May 1861, and was brigaded with the 2nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry
, and the 4th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry to make up what became famed as the "First New Jersey Brigade
". The regiment and brigade served as the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the VI Corps
, and participated in numerous battles from the June 27, 1862, Battle of Gaines' Mill
, Virginia
, to the final Union assaults on Confederate positions at Petersburg, Virginia
, in April 1865.
The remnents of the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry were mustered out in June 1865.
Notable members of the 1st New Jersey were:
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
from New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
that served in the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
.
It was recruited and mustered into Federal service in May 1861, and was brigaded with the 2nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry
3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry
The 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry was an American Civil War Union Army regiment of infantry from New Jersey that served in the Army of the Potomac....
, and the 4th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry to make up what became famed as the "First New Jersey Brigade
First New Jersey Brigade
The First New Jersey Brigade is the common name for an American Civil War brigade of New Jersey infantry regiments in the Union Army of the Potomac...
". The regiment and brigade served as the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the VI Corps
VI Corps (ACW)
The VI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Formation:The corps was organized as the Sixth Provisional Corps on May 18, 1862, by uniting Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin's Division, which had just arrived on the Virginia Peninsula, with Maj. Gen. William F. Smith's...
, and participated in numerous battles from the June 27, 1862, Battle of Gaines' Mill
Battle of Gaines' Mill
The Battle of Gaines's Mill, sometimes known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, to the final Union assaults on Confederate positions at Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
, in April 1865.
The remnents of the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry were mustered out in June 1865.
Notable members of the 1st New Jersey were:
- Colonel William Reading Montgomery - first commander and later Brigadier General of Volunteers
- Colonel Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert - later promoted to Brigadier General and commanded the regiment's brigade.
- Colonel Mark Wilkes ColletMark Wilkes ColletMark Wilkes Collet was a Union Army officer who served during the American Civil War. He served as Colonel and commander of the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry regiment, a unit he led from the Second Battle of Bull Run until the Chancellorsville Campaign...
- led the regiment at the Battle of FredericksburgBattle of FredericksburgThe Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
and the Battle of ChancellorsvilleBattle of ChancellorsvilleThe Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
, where he was killed in action. - Lieutenant Colonel Robert McAllister - later Colonel of the 11th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, II Corps brigade commander, and Brevet Major General of Volunteers.
- Captain William Brant, Jr. - Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
Recipient - Corporal Charles Ferren HopkinsCharles Ferren HopkinsCharles Ferren Hopkins, Sr. , was the last surviving Union Civil War solder in New Jersey and was a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor. He served as Mayor of Boonton, New Jersey.-Biography:...
- Medal of Honor Recipient - Lieutenant and Adjutant Peter Dumont Vroom, Jr. - son of a former Governor of New JerseyGovernor of New JerseyThe Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
, and later Brigadier General in the United States Regular ArmyRegular ArmyThe Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...
. - 2nd Lieutenant Camille BaquetCamille BaquetCamille Archibald Baquet was an American Civil War Union Army officer who served in the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry regiment, and was the author of the first history of the unit's brigade, the famed First New Jersey Brigade.-Biography:Born in Paterson, New Jersey, he grew up in Burlington,...
- author of "History of the First Brigade, New Jersey Volunteers (Kearny's First New Jersey Brigade) from 1861 to 1865", a history of the brigade published in 1910.