3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry

3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry
Unit name	3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry
Dates	1861–1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Union Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Notable commanders	George W. McClellan; Alexander C. M. Pennington Jr.

3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment raised in New Jersey for service in the American Civil War. Organized in 1861, the regiment served in several major campaigns including operations with the Army of the Potomac, fights in the Peninsula Campaign, and actions during the Overland Campaign, reflecting the larger strategic shifts between commanders such as George B. McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Hooker, and Ulysses S. Grant.

Formation and Organization

The regiment was mustered at Trenton and drew volunteers from counties including Burlington, Camden, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Essex under state authorities led by Governor Charles S. Olden and coordinated with the War Department. Initial field officers were commissioned amid debates in the New Jersey legislature and federal mustering overseen by state adjutants; recruitment followed models used by regiments such as 20th Maine and 54th Massachusetts in mobilization, training at camps patterned after Camp Parole and Camp Curtin, and integration into brigades within the I Corps and later corps structures.

Service History

Assigned initially to the defenses of Washington, D.C., the regiment participated in the movement to the Virginia Peninsula for the Peninsula Campaign under George B. McClellan, engaging in siege operations around Richmond and maneuvers at Yorktown. During the 1862–1863 period the regiment served in actions connected to the Seven Days Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, and the Maryland Campaign including the aftermath of Antietam. In 1863–1864 the unit participated in the Chancellorsville Campaign, elements of the Gettysburg Campaign, and later joined Ulysses S. Grant's forces for the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg. The regiment mustered out following the collapse of Confederate resistance in 1865 and the surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Engagements and Campaigns

The regiment saw combat in numerous named battles and campaigns tied to large formations such as the Army of the Potomac and theaters including the Eastern Theater. Notable engagements included Peninsula Campaign, Seven Days Battles, Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville Campaign, operations related to Gettysburg movements, the Overland Campaign, and siege operations at Petersburg. The unit also took part in smaller actions, reconnaissance missions, and picket duties associated with commanders like George Meade, Winfield Scott Hancock, and Philip H. Sheridan.

Casualties and Strength

At muster the regiment fielded typical strength for Union infantry regiments, with companies lettered A through K and an initial complement comparable to contemporaries such as 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. Over the course of service the regiment endured attrition from battle casualties at Antietam and Petersburg, disease prevalent in camps like Camp Parole, and losses from prisoner exchange and capture during actions like Second Bull Run. Aggregate figures include several hundred killed or mortally wounded and additional losses from disease, reflecting patterns observed across units such as 3rd New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry and 5th New York Volunteer Infantry. Replacements and reenlistments under veteran furlough policies partially restored strength before final demobilization.

Commanders and Notable Personnel

Regimental commanders included officers subordinate to corps and division leaders like Joseph Hooker and Ambrose Burnside, with colonels and lieutenant colonels who coordinated with brigade commanders such as Daniel Sickles and John Sedgwick. Notable personnel who served in staff or company roles later associated with public life included veterans who engaged with institutions like the Grand Army of the Republic and civic offices in New Jersey. Several non-commissioned officers and junior officers received brevet promotions in postwar honors issued by Congress and acknowledged by state legislatures and veterans' organizations.

Equipment and Uniforms

Arms issued to the regiment followed Union ordnance patterns, including rifled muskets similar to the Model 1861 Springfield rifled musket and carbines comparable to those used by regiments raised in New England. Accouterments and uniforms mirrored regulations promulgated in 1861 regulations, with blue frock coats, forage caps, and haversacks that paralleled equipment in units like 10th New York. Artillery support and logistics coordination involved supply lines connected to depots such as Springfield Armory and transportation via the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Orange and Alexandria Railroad during campaigns.

Legacy and Commemoration

Remembrance of the regiment appears in state archives at the New Jersey State Archives, monuments on battlefields including markers at Antietam National Battlefield and Petersburg National Battlefield, and in postwar veteran commemorations by organizations like the Grand Army of the Republic and local New Jersey Historical Society. Histories and rosters are preserved alongside works documenting contemporaneous units such as the 11th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry and studies of commanders including George B. McClellan and Ulysses S. Grant. Annual memorials, preserved muster rolls, and battlefield preservation efforts by Civil War Trust affiliates contribute to ongoing public history and scholarship.

Category:Units and formations of the Union Army from New Jersey Category:1861 establishments in New Jersey