The Civil War and the 12th Volunteers from SJ

A year after the war started the Union faced a shortage of men and President Lincoln requested that each State enlist at least 300,000 for a term of three years to replace the men already enlisted whose term was ready to expire. Woodbury was already bustling with young men that were eager and ready to accept the call. Just outside of Woodbury, on the Dickerson farm, a camp was established called Camp Stockton. There, the recruiting of mostly farm boys began. The field and staff officers of the regiment were chosen first that included: Colonel Robert C. Johnson of Salem County, Lieutenant Colonel J. Howard Willetts of Cape May County, Major Thomas H. Davis of Cumberland County, Adjutant Henry C. Paxson, Quartermaster J. Frank Brown, Surgeon Alvin Satterthwaite, Assistant Surgeons Samuel T. Miller and Uriah Gilman and Chaplain William B. Otis.

The goal was to recruit 10 Companies of 100 men each. The first to be recruited was Company F of Gloucester County. Two months after the call went out for volunteers the Regiment 12th Volunteers was mustered into Federal service. Almost immediately the 12th Volunteers were sent to Maryland to encounter the Rebel Army. Here they received their first casualties. Six men died of disease, the first was John W. DuBois, of Woodstown. During their stay in Maryland the Regiment was able to capture 21 Confederate soldiers and forty Maryland Home Guards. The Regiment stayed in Maryland until December when they were sent to Acquia Point, Virginia. They met with the 24th and 28th New Jersey near Fredericksburg. It must have been a welcomed sight to meet with fellow statesmen and converse about familiar settings and home.

In 1863 the 12th Volunteer encountered Stonewall Jackson`s Corps where they lost 24 men, 132 wounded and 22 captured but their spirits remained high. Some of the officers killed were; 2nd Lieutenant Joseph Pierson, Company F, from Mullica Hill and Sergeant William R. Walton. Later they were sent to Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg, to support troops under attack by Lee`s army. The commanding officer requested volunteers to clear out a Confederate outpost near the Bliss Farm. The New Jersey 12th volunteers took the call and Companies B, E, G, and H were sent. They managed to capture 7 officers and 92 men, the rest retreated. Captain Charles K. Horsfall was killed in the battle along with 38 soldiers. They would later encounter hordes of rebel soldiers determined to take Cemetery Ridge. It was a very bloody battle and over 2,200 Union soldiers were killed or wounded but the Ridge was not lost.

The battle over Gettysburg was the worst battle ever encountered by Americans. Anyone that has read the story of this awful event knows that the loss of life was enormous. After the battle, Brigadier General Alexander Hays reported that a Confederate color-bearer was given special burial by the Union army. She was wrapped in the flag that she carried. Her identity remains unknown.

By 1864 the 12th Volunteers were back in Virginia near the Potomac. They fought many battles but the most memorable was called the “Bloody Angle” where hand-to-hand combat lasted almost a full day. The losses were severe and the Regiment was exhausted but they continued on to later rescue 270 Union soldiers that were wounded and almost taken as prisoners.

During 1865 the Regiment remained in Virginia and assisted in forcing the retreat of the Confederate army to Appomattox Station. On April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered. Captain William A. Potter of Company G, 12th New Jersey Volunteers was one of five officers chosen to deliver the surrendered colors of the Northern Virginia Army to the War Department.

The 12th Regiment lost 1,700 men during the war through fifty battles and skirmishes but they never lost their colors! Space does not allow me to list all of the men enlisted in the 12th Regiment. They were from Salem, Camden, Burlington, Cumberland and Gloucester County. You can find the roster in the publication 12th New Jersey Volunteers 1862-65 by Frederick W. Jago, printed by the Gloucester County Historical Society. I am sure that many will find ancestors listed and know that they can be proud of the contributions that the 12th Regiment made to the war.

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Author: Vickie Van Antwerp