Steve Barnes and Don Klein of Williamsburg Battlefield Association place sign along road; Five members of the 7th New Jersey from Fairfield; nearby Redoubt Park in Williamsburg) |
With the 5th New Jersey supporting
artillery, Brig. Gen. Francis E. Patterson (photo, below) of Hooker’s division ordered the men
of the 6th, 7th and 8th New Jersey regiments
into a ravine near the Rebels’ Fort Magruder.
The fighting was fierce. Terrain was won and lost as men fought in tangled undergrowth and on swampy ground. Finally, Alabama and Mississippi regiments commanded by Brig. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox pushed back the men in blue, who were exhausted and out of ammunition.
The outnumbered New Jersey troops had their
largest casualties of any battles in which they participated, but they won
acclaim for their valor. Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker was said to have called them
bulldogs.
That sacrifice will be remembered Sunday
morning as a new Civil War Trails marker is dedicated not far from the ravine.
About 40 members of the Old Baldy Civil War Roundtable of Philadelphia, most
living in New Jersey but some traveling from Colorado and North Carolina, are
expected to participate.
“I couldn’t be
prouder of our organization and members for sponsoring this sign,” said Frank Barletta,
a board member with the roundtable. “I cannot think of a more fitting memorial
to this overlooked major battle of the war.”
Fort Magruder and other Rebel works near Williamsburg (Wikipedia) |
Hooker’s
division attacked the Southerners at Fort Magruder, but was
repulsed. Confederate counterattacks ultimately wore out and they made a
nighttime withdrawal toward Richmond. Casualties numbered more than 3,800.
The American Battlefield Trust and other groups in 2020 protected the "Bloody Ravine" and 29 acres for posterity.
Another 162nd
anniversary commemoration will take place from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday about a
half mile away at the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center. The
Williamsburg Battlefield Association will lead the program, which includes
historical displays and costumed interpreters, music by the William & Mary brass
band.
“Learn about the
battle, its impact on the emancipation movement, medical practices during the
war and female soldiers,” the association says in a program overview. “See the
battle and 19th-century town of Williamsburg through maps and images, and
understand current battlefield preservation efforts.”
Nov. 2021 dig at powder magazine wall (The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation) |
The ceremony for the new Civil War Trails
marker will include a color guard from Joint Base Langley-Eustis. A wreath will be laid and there will be a
reading of a New Jersey Senate resolution that praises the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table for its commitment to the sign and “ensuring that the brave
soldiers from New Jersey are memorialized for posterity.”
The roundtable is
taking a bus from Cherry Hill, N.J., on Saturday morning and will tour the
battlefield, site of Fort Magruder and Redoubt Park in the afternoon. After the
9 a.m. Sunday sign dedication, the group will tour the Lee Hall Mansion in
Newport News before heading home.
Based in
Williamsburg, Civil War Trails is considered the world’s
largest “open air museum,” with signs and markers at about 1,500 sites across
six states: Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and
West Virginia.
The bravery of the
New Jersey soldiers also is honored by the Lawrence Township Historical Society in the state. Dan Casella with the group said it has
books that have newspaper articles and correspondence from Cedarville and
Cumberland County soldiers in southern New Jersey who served in the 5th,
6th and 7th volunteer regiments.
Casella in 2022 wrote a fascinating article about his research on a photograph (right, Library of Congress) showing five 7th New Jersey boys from Fairfield. He wanted to know their fate. One, Capt. Benjamin F. Ogden, wrote about the battle two weeks later.
“I must speak of our contest,” Ogden wrote, “although it makes me feel
sad every time, I mention it; for it renews the recollection that one of our
number still lies beneath the battle ground…when the battle commenced, six of
us Cedarville men were in the front rank. At night, one lay dead on the field,
and two in hospital wounded. Three came out without a scratch, although I had
three bullet holes in my overcoat cape….”
He went on to discuss other casualties. (You can read
Casella’s article here to learn the fate of Ogden and the four other soldiers
in the photograph.
“General Hooker says we were whipped three times yesterday but did not
know it; he says we are not Soldiers, but Bulldogs! We do not stay in one place
long but keep closing on Richmond.”
Richmond did not fall for another three years, accompanied by hundreds
of thousands of casualties.
The new Civil War
Trails sign is located at the Teamsters Hall, 7294 Merrimac Trail,
Williamsburg. Guests attending the ceremony are encouraged to park along nearby
Orange Drive.
I wish NJ got better recognition for its role in the war. The events of the 12th at Gettysburg is enough to make any Yankee proud.
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