This report covers everything about the New Jersey monuments at Gettysburg.
It starts with planning and financial aspects, and covers all of the dedication exercises done when they were dedicated.
The most useful part of the report are the dedication speeches given at each monument. Veterans who were at the battle spoke about their service and things they remembered about those days in 1863.
In some cases, this may be the only record of some of these soldier’s statements and personal recollections.
==================================================================
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1 – 3, 1863. It is often described as the war’s turning point. New Jersey troops were heavily engaged at Gettysburg. Over 4,000 of them fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, suffering over 600 casualties. They were organized into twelve infantry regiments, a cavalry regiment, and two artillery batteries. Five of the infantry regiments were organized into an all-New Jersey brigade, whose regiments share a single monument.
From 1885 to 1887, the state legislature enacted three laws appropriating monies for the erection of monuments to honor the New Jersey Civil War regiments which fought in the battle of Gettysburg.
The first law, passed 20 April 1885 (P.L. 1885, c. 208), authorized the governor and comptroller to spend $2,500 to erect monuments at the battlefield to mark the positions of the New Jersey units.
The second act, approved 27 April 1886 (P.L. 1886, c. 199), appropriated $3,000 for the Gettysburg Battlefield Monument Association, and an additional $6,000 for properly marking the positions of the regiments.
The law also directed the governor to appoint a three-man commission (the Gettysburg Battlefield Commission of New Jersey) with the purpose of determining the style and number of monuments.
The commission was also authorized to call on (and pay up to $300) one surviving officer from each regiment and battery engaged in the battle to accurately locate the lines and positions of the New Jersey men.
The third and final act, passed 16 March 1887 (P.L. 1887, c. 14) further appropriated $9,450 for the completion of the project.
The dedication of the New Jersey monuments on the battlefield at Gettysburg took place on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the eve of the battle, Saturday, 30 June 1888.
