Beginnings and Early Service
Through the course of the Civil War, the brigade was composed entirely of units from New Jersey, the only Union brigade during the war to be constituted as such. Its origins were on May 4, 1861, when New Jersey was directed by the Federal government to fill a quota of three infantry regiments to serve a three-year term of enlistment. Recruitment took place for the new regiments all over the state, and on May 21, 1861, the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry was mustered into the Union Army at Camp Olden in Trenton, New Jersey, under Maj. Theodore T. S. Laidley of the United States Regular Army. The 1st New Jersey was then followed into Federal service by the 2nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry (May 28, 1861) and the 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry.
On June 28, 1861, the three newly created three-year regiments began the journey to Virginia, where in June they were joined with a brigade of three-month enlistment New Jersey Militia regiments to form a division commanded by Brig. Gen. Theodore Runyon. This was the first time the New Jersey regiments officially formed the brigade. During the First Bull Run Campaign, most of the brigade saw service in the field guarding train hubs, supply depots and roadways, being considered too "green" to be reliable in combat. However, a few companies of the 1st and 2nd New Jersey Infantries were directed to help stem the retreat at Centreville, Virginia, after the Confederates routed General Irvin McDowell's forces at Manassas, Virginia, on July 21, 1861. They were unsuccessful, and many officers and men retreated in the rout as well.
In August 1861, the 4th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry was recruited and added to the First New Jersey Brigade after its muster into service. From that point on, the four regiments and their later remnants would serve together until the end of the war and their final discharge.
Read more about this topic: First New Jersey Brigade
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