CIVIL WAR INDEX
Primary Source Material
on the Soldiers and the Battles
Home The Armies The Soldiers The Battles Civilians Articles
If this website has been useful to you, please consider making a Donation.

Your support will help keep this website free for everyone, and will allow us to do more research. Thank you for your support!

3rd New Jersey Infantry

Regimental History
Third Infantry. — Cols., George W. Taylor, Henry W. Brown; Lieut.- Cols., Mark W. Collett, James N. Duffy; Majs., James W. H. Stickney, William E. Bryan. This regiment, raised under authority of General Orders No. 15, of May 4, 1861, was fully organized, equipped and officered by May 18, and on June 4 was duly mustered into the U. S. service for three years, at Camp Olden, Trenton. It left the state on June 28, with a full complement of men — 38 officers, 1,013 non-commissioned officers and privates, total, 1,051. It was assigned to Gen. Kearny's brigade, with the 1st, 2nd and 4th N. J., composing the 1st New Jersey brigade. Immediately after the first battle of Bull Run it joined the 1st and 2nd regiments near Alexandria, having been stationed at Fairfax during the engagement. It was among the first to come into direct collision with the pickets of the enemy and to suffer loss in its ranks from Confederate bullets at Munson's hill. On March 9, 1862, the 2nd and 3d, with a squadron of the Lincoln cavalry, occupied Sangster's station, on the Orange & Alexandria railroad, the 4th acting as a support to the advance. On the following day the brigade moved cautiously forward and at 10 o'clock in the morning entered the abandoned works at Manassas Junction — eight companies of the 3d being the first to take possession and hoist the regimental flag. At West Point, Va., the brigade relieved the troops in advance on the evening of May 6, 1862, and the men lay on their arms in line of battle until daylight, when they were ordered forward, the 3d regiment being on the skirmish line. At Gaines' mill the brigade was formed in two lines, the 3d and 4th in front, and in that order advanced to the brow of a hill, where the 3d, under Lieut-Col. Brown, was ordered into the woods to relieve Newton's brigade, which was sorely pressed by the enemy. The gallant regiment stood its ground, opening a galling fire on the enemy and remaining in the woods until the close of the action, with a loss of 34 killed, 136 wounded and 45 missing. The regiment participated in the battles of Charles City cross-roads, Malvern hill, Manassas, Chantilly, Crampton's gap and Antietam, and also in the movement against Fredericksburg in December. In the spring of 1863 the regiment took part in the movements of Hooker in the vicinity of Fredericksburg and fought at Salem church. In the Gettysburg campaign the brigade, which prior to that movement had been in various apparently aimless marches in Virginia, was attached to Wright's division of the 6th corps. Following the Gettysburg fight the regiment was engaged at Fairfield. Pa., Williamsport and Funkstown, Md., Rappahannock Station and Mine Run, Va. Col. Torbert being assigned to the command of a cavalry division. Col. Brown, of the 3d, temporarily took charge of the brigade, to which the 10th regiment was added before the grand advance under Grant. In all the operations in the Wilderness the Jerseymen behaved with the greatest steadiness. At the opening of the light at Spottsylvania, after some playing at cross-purposes, the 3d and 15th regiments were advanced, the former under Capt. Dubois deployed as skirmishers, and the latter under Col. Campbell acting as a support. On May 12, the brigade was massed for a charge — the 3d being in the second line — and pushed forward through the woods until within 100 yards of the Confederate works. In the first eleven days of Grant's campaign against Richmond the 3d regiment sustained the following losses: Killed 21, wounded 102, missing 33. After fighting at the North Anna river, Hanover Court House, Totopotomy creek and Cold Harbor, the 3d left the front on June 3 and reached the New Jersey state capital on the night of the 7th. The men of the regiment who had reenlisted and those whose terms had not expired were at first transferred to the 4th and 15th, but were subsequently consolidated into the 1st, 2nd and 3d battalions, and with the 4th, 10th and 15th regiments, from that time forward until Feb., 1865, constituted the 1st brigade — the 40th regiment being added at the latter date. The regiment then participated in the final operations of the war until the surrender of Lee, when it was assigned to what was known as the provisional corps, Army of the Potomac, and was mustered out at Hall's hill, Va., June 29, 1865. The total strength of the regiment was 1,275 and it lost, by resignation 23, by discharge 383, by promotion 84, by transfer 95, by death 213, by desertion 111, by dismissal 4, not accounted for 3, leaving 359 that were mustered out.

Footnotes:
Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing Company, 1908 - Volume 3

Whats New
Bibliography
About Us


Copyright 2010 by CivilWarIndex.com
A Division of Pier-Pleasure.com