New Jersey in the Civil War

United States   U.S. Civil War    New Jersey    New Jersey Military    New Jersey in the Civil War



Introduction
New Jersey sent over 88,000 soldiers to the Union armed forces, as part of 52 regiments. More than a fourth were part of the Army of the Potomac. Generally soldiers from New Jersey fought in eastern areas of the war. About 6,300 of these soldiers died during the war.

New Jersey Military Units
Most units were numbered, however, some were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and other units.

The information in the lists of New Jersey Military Units comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors web site. That web site also can be searched by the name of a soldier.

New Jersey Units by Number or by Name Union Units 1st-9th 10th-45th A to Z New Jersey Units by Type of Unit Union Units Infantry Cavalry Artillery Other

Federal Records
The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the federal indexes to service and pension records of Union Army soldiers. The actual service and pension records have not been filmed and are available only at the National Archives.

Important published rosters from the adjutant general's office are:


 * Stryker, William S., Compiler. Record of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861-1865. Two Volumes. Trenton, New Jersey: John L. Murphy, 1876. (Family History Library.)
 * New Jersey Adjutant General. Register of the Commissioned Officers and Privates of the New Jersey Volunteers in Service of the United States. Three Volumes. Jersey City, New Jersey: John H. Lyon, 1863-1865. (Family History Library .) The Family History Library has only the first volume.
 * New Jersey Adjutant General. Annual Report of the Adjutant-General of the State of New Jersey for . . . 1861-1865. Four Volumes in one. Trenton, New Jersey, 1862-1865. (Not available at the Family History Library.)

State Records
The state archives has:


 * Alphabetical Roll of New Jersey Volunteers in the Civil War. (Family History Library ; 579864 [I- P]; 579865 [Q-W]]; names W-Z were not filmed.)
 * Civil War Pension Claims, New Jersey Soldiers, Alphabetical. (Family History Library .) This is a list of invalid soldiers or their widows who applied for pensions from 1880-87.
 * New Jersey Civil War Records, Books 1-829. Trenton, New Jersey: State Library of Archives and History, 1969. (On 121 Family History Library films starting with .) Film 578155 has an inventory of the contents of the books.

Books 1-106 contain pension claims to the year 1907. They are in alphabetical order.

Books 107-108 contain pension claims after 1917.

Books 109-152 contain correspondence with the New Jersey Adjutant General's office.

Books 153-200 contain lists of all men ages 18-45. They are listed by county and township.

Civil War Record Books
The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the first 290 volumes of pension claims, veterans' correspondence files, and militia enrollments from the office of the adjutant general. Volumes 291-829, which contain mostly muster rolls and discharges, were not microfilmed and are available only at the state archives.

Burial Records
The New Jersey Historical Society has an 11,000-card Index to Civil War Soldiers' Graves in New Jersey.


 * Jackson, Ronald Vern. Civil War Veterans Listed in the 1890 Census. New Jersey 1890. Salt Lake City, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1990. (Family History Library book .) This contains the names of Civil War veterans and their widows for the special census taken along with the Federal 1890 census (Family History Library ). The soldier's rank, company, regiment, date of enlistment, date of discharge, length of service, P. O. address and often street address, disability incurred, and remarks such as death date and place are given. If the soldier died before the 1890 census, his name is given with the name of the widow.

Pensions

 * Civil War Pension Index Cards - A free Internet index to pension applications of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch Record Search. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. Other wars, of that time period, may be included.

For a helpful reference, see:


 * Sinclair, Donald A. A Bibliography, the Civil War and New Jersey. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Friends of the Rutgers University Library, 1968. (Family History Library .)