‘Jersey boys’

Nearly 1,000 strong, healthy young men from New Jersey lay dead or dying, with sweaty, bloodstained and shredded uniforms sticking to their skin in a ravine outside of Fort Magruder on May 5, 1862.

While flies buzzed around the deceased, the injured moaned in pain, crying for sweethearts or calling for their mothers to save them. As the sun set, their eyes shut forever.

When the smoke cleared from the 10-hour Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, 2,283 Union soldiers were killed, mortally wounded, or died from disease – and 968 of them were from the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th New Jersey regiments. The Confederate Army casualties totaled 1,682.

Thanks to the members of the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table – which meets monthly at the Cherry Hill campus of Camden County College – the “Jersey boys” who “fought like bulldogs” were honored for their bravery and sacrifice with a historical marker dedicated on May 5, 2024 – 162 years after the day of the battle.

“We hired a bus and arranged a dinner for Saturday night,” said the Old Baldy CWRT outgoing president Rich Jankowski, who after 16 years in that office handed over the reins to Paul Prentiss during the group’s Jan. 9 meeting. “On Saturday morning, we took tours of the battlefield. Early Sunday morning, we did the dedication on the actual day of the battle.”

The spring dedication saw the marker placed near a ravine.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our organization and members for sponsoring this sign,” noted CWRT member Frank Barletta. “I cannot think of a more fitting memorial to this overlooked major battle of the war.”

“Our mission is the preservation and education of the Civil War period,” said Jankowski, adding that the dedication included descendants of the “Jersey Boys” and was well attended “We raise funds for battlefields and educational programs for the public.”

There are now more than 100 members of the Old Baldy CWRT, most of whom are from New Jersey and Philadelphia. But since the meetings are also livestreamed on Zoom, the group can count members in Colorado, North Carolina and as far away as Australia and Venezuela.

During Jankowski’s long term as president of the CWRT, he and his officers were able to increase membership and joined the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey and the Camden County History Alliance. The CWRT meets at the college’s Rohrer Center at 7:15 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.

Founded in 1977, its members met at the Civil War Museum at 802 Pine St. in Philadelphia until 2008, then gathered at the Union League in Center City from 2009 to 2012. With so many of the CWRT’s participants from South Jersey, the group decided it would be easier to meet in Camden County.

“We have guest speakers or discussions open to the public,” Janowski pointed out. “Historians talk about a great variety of topics – including politics, different battles and even Naval strategy.”

During his tenure, the CWRT won several awards, for its newsletter and for innovation and sustainability. CWRT has also issued two books on Civil War history for middle-school students, and member Barney Yetter of Colorado is currently writing a third.

“We want to educate the public,” explained Jankowski, adding that the “Jersey Boys” historical marker is part of the national Civil War Trails and the Battle of Williamsburg is also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder.

The battlefield losses were staggering for the New Jersey regiments, with 35 officers and 543 enlisted men and officers killed or mortally wounded, and another 390 who died of disease. The outnumbered New Jersey troops had their largest casualties of any battles in which they participated, but they won acclaim for their valor.

Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker called them “bulldogs.” And thanks to the Old Baldy CWRT, they will be remembered in perpetuity.