11th & 12th New Jersey Infantry - Gettysburg Commander - NEW

Item CDV-11629

Description

John T. Hill
 
 
Civil War Union Army Officer. Enlisted in the Union Army as Captain and commander of Company C, 11th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry on July 26, 1862. Served with his regiment through the Fredericksburg Campaign and the Mud March. When Thomas H. Davis of the 12th New Jersey Infantry was promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel of that regiment, Captain Hill was transferred to the 12th New Jersey and promoted to Major (a move that was extremely unpopular with the men of the 12th New Jersey, who thought a officer of their own regiment should have been promoted). He quickly won over his new command with steady leadership, especially during the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he assumed command of the regiment when its commander, Colonel J. H. Willets, was wounded. He led the 12th New Jersey through the Gettysburg campaign, and played a significant part in the fighting on July 2 and 3, 1863. On the Second Day of the Battle, the 12th New Jersey was stationed near the Bryan House on Cemetery Ridge. From this point Major Hill detailed men of his command to twice attack and capture the Bliss Farmhouse, which had housed a number of Confederate troops. On the Third Day, his regiment took part in the repulse of Pickett's Charge (Confederate troops from North Carolina came within feet of the 12th New Jersey's position). Today two monuments stand in the Gettysburg National Military Park for the 12th New Jersey Infantry (one on Hancock Avenue on Cemetery Ridge, the other in the field where the Bliss Farm once stood). Major Hill would survive the battle, and lead his Jerseymen in the Mine Run Campaign. His health, already fragile, was shattered by his constant field service, and he was forced to resign on February 24, 1864 due to disability.
 
 
Source:  Find A Grave