9th New Jersey Volunteers

The 9th New Jersey regiment was raised in late summer of 1861 as a regiment of riflemen. Broadsides were put up all over New Jersey looking for young men who could shoot well. They mustered in at Camp Olden, named for the then Governor, near Trenton in September of 1861. The first official muster was held on October 5th, 1861. There they trained until December 4th when the regiment set out from the State for Washington City.

The regiment consisted of four three-company battalions with a total of 1,159 officers and men. These men were drawn from all over the State and, so, the regiment really did represent the entire State of New Jersey. Many men of Company E were from Sussex County.

Recruited as riflemen the new recruits balked at being issued smoothbore muskets. Governor Charles Olden agreed that a rifle regiment ought to have rifles. So he lobbied the Federal authorities, who were stretched to their limits in procuring weapons, and got the obsolete muskets replaced by the new Springfield rifle-musket before they left the State. Individual marksmanship was encouraged from the start and showed throughout their service.

Although the last regiment to leave the State in 1861, the 9th was the first New Jersey troops committed to battle. The regiment joined General Ambrose Burnsides' expedition to North Carolina in early 1862, the so-called Burnside Expedition. Before the first shot was fired the 9th lost its Colonel, Joseph Allen, and Surgeon, Frederick Weller when a surf boat capsized near Cape Hatteras. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Heckman immediately took over command, having nearly lost his own life with the Colonel.

The first action of the 9th was Roanoke Island on February 8th. During this battle, in marshy conditions, another regiment, (possibly) the 9th New York, fired at least one volley into the 9th New Jersey's rear. The Muskrats, as the 9th New Jersey was known, dropped into the mud and icy water with another volley passing overhead before the New York Zouaves realized their mistake.

The 9th New Jersey spent much of 1862 and 1863 in North Carolina, participating in several battles and doing garrison duty some of the time. In early 1864 the regiment returned to New Jersey as their three (3) year enlistment papers were up. Most of those who remained reenlisted and the regiment changed their banners to read Ninth New Jersey Veteran Volunteers. The men who reenlisted got an additional cash bonus plus thirty days veteran furlough.

The regiment returned to the field in March of 1864 by moving into Virginia, beginning at Bermuda Hundred. The 9th served in Virginia through the Siege of Petersburg (VA). In time the regiment returned to North Carolina where it served until the end of the war.