39th Regiment, New Jersey Infantry

Brief History
39th Regiment, New Jersey Infantry was organized at Newark, New Jersey, October 3, 1864. The Regiment was composed of both first time enlistees and seasoned veterans. The 39th was called up as part of President Lincoln's call for 150,000 additional troops with which he planned to finally end the rebellion.

After mustering in, the Regiment was dispatched to City Point, Va., the headquarters of General Grant for the Army of the Potomac. After spending several months fortifying the breast works both in and around City Point, the Regiment was transferred to Petersburg as part of the siege which would eventually result in the flight of General Lee and the evacuation of Richmond. The unit saw significant action on the siege line during the Battle of the Crater among others but it's most serious action was during the final assault on Petersburg where the 39th New Jersey along with the 5th Vermont led the initial assault against the heavily protected Fort Mahone (also known to the Union troops as Fort Damnation) at 4:00 am on April 4, 1865. The 39th led the assault using only axes and hatchets to cut through the rebel Cheval de Frise and Abatis and provide access for the 5th Vermont. The 39th NJ suffered 91 casualties during the assault.

After participating in the chase of Lee's army and the surrender of Lee at Appomatox, the Regiment traveled to Washington, DC for the Grand Review.

They mustered out June 17, 1865.

For more information on the history of this unit, see:


 * The Civil War Archive section, 39th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 20 July 2012).


 * The Wikipedia article, 39th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, (accessed 20 July 2012).


 * Civil War in the East, 39th New Jersey Infantry, (accessed 14 March 2013).

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 1,436 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘New Jersey in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * New Jersey in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for New Jersey, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.