Jerseymen in Two Wars

Today in New Jersey history:

June 18. 1812: America declared war on Great Britain. New Jersey’s role in the conflict was largely relegated to militia duty in coastal defense, although several New Jerseyans of note, including Zebulon Pike, William Bainbridge and James Lawrence, served in the army and navy, and a regular army regiment, the Fifteenth United States Infantry, was raised in the state.

June 18, 1864: The Thirty-fifth New Jersey Infantry charged a Confederate position at Big Shanty, Georgia, capturing a line of rifle pits and fifty prisoners. Brigadier General Grenville M. Dodge noted in his official report that “in this charge the Thirty-fifth New Jersey Infantry displayed great gallantry.”