|History|
The 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment was mustered into service in May of 1861. It was assigned to the Army of the Potomac in the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, VI Corps, alongside the 2nd, 3rd and 4th New Jersey Regiments. As such the Brigade was nicknamed the “First New Jersey Brigade”
The regiment first saw action at the Battle of Gaines’s Mill on June 27, 1862 and took part in most major battles for the rest of the war. Their major battles are listed below:
Battle of Gaines’s Mill - June 27, 1862
First Battle of Bull Run - July 21, 1862
Second Battle of Bull Run - August 28-30, 1862
Battle of Antietam - September 17, 1862
Battle of Fredericksburg - December 11-15, 1862
Battle of Gettysburg - July 1-3, 1863
Battle of the Wilderness - May 5-7, 1864
Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse - May 9-21, 1864
Battle of Cold Harbor - May 31- Jun 12, 1864
Battle of Cedar Creek - October 19, 1864
The regiment also participated in some of the final assaults on the city of Petersburg in April of 1865. The regiment was then mustered out 2 months later in June.
The 1st New Jersey boasts 2 Medal of Honor recipients, Captain William Brant and Corporal Charles F. Hopkins. Captain Brant, during the Siege of Petersburg, captured the colors of the 46th North Carolina. It is unknown what Corporal Hopkins did to win his award, but he was promoted to Sergeant shortly after. We also have a surviving photograph of him at the end of the war. (Posted Below)
Overall, throughout all of the campaigns of the 1st New Jersey, the regiment lost 244 men total. 153 men died in battle or by wounds inflicted in battle, and 91 to disease and other causes.
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