but fought hard for Union
State was tied to South,
but fought hard for Union
These items from the Civil War are part of the “Our Long Endurance: The Story of New Jersey in the Civil War” exhibit at the Cornelius Low House in Piscataway.
BY LORI ELKINS SOLOMON
Correspondent
During the Civil War, Old Bridge supplied the Union troops with salt hay to feed their horses.
The Mason Dixon Line — the symbolic border between the Union and the Confederacy — passed through New Jersey, geographically separating southern New Jersey from northern portions of the state.
The town of Kearney was named for Philip Kearney, a one-armed military general who led many successful battles against the Confederates before being killed in battle.
These and many other facts, some little-known, some not, are revealed in a new exhibit titled "Our Long Endurance: The Story of New Jersey in the Civil War."
Housed in the Cornelius Low House in Piscataway, this comprehensive collection of Civil War photos, documents and artifacts is a joint project of the Cornelius Low House-Middlesex County Museum and Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Funding was provided in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission, Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders and Middlesex County Cultural Heritage Commission.
The exhibit opened Nov. 16 and will be on display through December 2005.
According to Joanne DeAmicis Bulla, curator at the Cornelius Low House, New Jersey played a major role in the Civil War.
"We contributed officers and did a lot for the Union cause," she said.
But this allegiance to the North took some time to develop. The exhibit begins with the state’s early slave history. Although New Jersey passed gradual abolition acts in the 1800s, it was the only northern state to still have slaves at the start of the Civil War.
The Democratic Party, which supported slavery, was strong in New Jersey, unlike in other northern states where the Republican Party prevailed. Mixed feelings existed about the expansion of slavery and the differences between agricultural and manufacturing economies.
There were strong economic and cultural ties to the South, as many manufactured goods from Newark, Paterson and Trenton were shipped south, including clothing, leather items and agricultural tools. Also, some southerners attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and visited the resorts in Cape May. Many New Jerseyans were reluctant to lose these markets.
The turning point for New Jersey was the Confederate attack on South Carolina’s Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Fort Sumter was just one of a few southern military installations that were still under federal control — most others had been taken over by their respective states. In New Jersey, there was such a strong reaction to the attack that the Common Council of Newark unanimously passed the following resolution:
"Resolved. That it is the high duty of every citizen to ignore all past political issues and promptly and heartily to rally under the banner of the Stars and Stripes for the defense of the Union and the Constitution of our fathers against all enemies and opposers whatever."
One of the state’s major war contributions was as a principal supplier of agricultural goods. Wheat was processed into flour and baked into hardtack crackers for the soldiers to eat, and oats and straw were fed to cavalry horses.
In further recognition of New Jersey’s agricultural role in the war, in 1862, Rutgers University was designated a land grant college and established a scientific school, one of the earliest agricultural research centers.
New Jersey also supplied the troops with military goods. In fact, the Trenton Iron Works was a major supplier of iron and steel for artillery and rifles. These supplies were transported to Pennsylvania by the Camden and Amboy Railroad, which provided a vital link to Union troops stationed in the South.
Perhaps the most important resource was New Jersey’s people. Young men willingly enlisted. By the end of the war, 6,400 New Jerseyans lost their lives for the cause.
One illustrious New Jerseyan who participated in the war was Gen. Joseph Revere of Morristown. The grandson of Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, the general assumed command of the 2nd New Jersey Brigade when his predecessor fell under enemy fire. He ordered an unauthorized retreat so that his troops could regroup, for which he was court-martialed and dismissed from service. Revere was eventually exonerated and given the honorary title of brevet major general.
Thomas Nast, of Morristown, a young war correspondent and illustrator for Harper’s Weekly, was deemed "our best recruiting sergeant" by President Abraham Lincoln. Displayed in the exhibit is one of Nast’s drawings depicting St. Nick bringing cheer to the Union troops. Nast is credited with developing our modern image of Santa Claus. His post-war cartoons promoted African-American rights and publicized political corruption such as the political machine of Boss Tweed in New York.
New Jersey’s women also played an important role in the war. Although women were not permitted to assume military positions, Dorothea Dix, already known as a proponent of mental health care in New Jersey (and nationwide), took on the responsibility of supervising female nurses during the war. Cornelia Hancock, a native New Jerseyan from Salem County, nursed Union soldiers, aided southern black refuges left homeless in Washington, D.C., and taught emancipated slaves in the South.
While racial prejudice prevented New Jersey from forming a black regiment, 2,872 blacks from the state fought in the war — first as members of the all-black 54th MA Infantry Regiment, and later as participants in the U.S. Colored Infantries. Although blacks only fought for the last 18 months of the war (after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation allowed them to enlist, serve as substitutes and be drafted), these soldiers accounted for 8 percent of New Jersey’s total fatalities — a percentage equal to their population in the state.
New Jersey continued to play an important role in post-war politics and culture. During the presidential election of 1864, the Democratic candidate running against Lincoln was George B. McClellan, a former general who had commanded the Grand Army of Potomac and settled in Orange after the war. While McClellan lost the presidential election, in 1878 he was elected governor. During his time in office, McClellan created a strong militia, eliminated state taxes and encouraged the growth of trade schools and local industry.
Decatur Dorsey, a former slave from the South who joined the Union side, settled in Hoboken. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery during the war.
And poet Walt Whitman, who served as a nurse at a Union hospital in Washington, D.C., settled in Camden after the war. There he wrote a series of Civil War poems entitled "Drum Taps," which later became part of his famous "Leaves of Grass."
For more information, call the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission at (732) 745-4489.