15th New Jersey

Volunteer Infantry Company B

American Civil War Living History

History of the FIfteenth

      The 15th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry (Fifteenth) was the last of the 3 year enlistment regiments formed in the summer of 1862. As each company of the Fifteenth was filled, they were sent to Camp Fair Oaks in Flemington, NJ, for formal instruction and muster. Following the battle of Antietam, the Fifteenth was assigned to the First New Jersey Brigade, which was the First Brigade of the First Division of the VI Corps in the Army of the Potomac.

      As part of the Union Army of the Potomac, under the command of the newly appointed General Burnside, the Fifteenth participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg as well as the famous “Mud March”.  During their first winter in the field, the Army of the Potomac bade farewell to General Burnside in January of 1863 and welcomed their new commander, General Hooker.  Under General Hooker, the Army of the Potomac received both the equipment and rest required for the upcoming campaigns of 1863.  It was during this time that Corps badges were instituted and the Fifteenth received their distinctive red Greek Crosses. 

     In the April of 1863 General Hooker split his force, marching the Army of the Potomac to the north and then west, leaving behind the VI Corps at Fredericksburg, VA.  The focus of this movement was to attack and turn the left flank of General Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia.  On April 30th, the two armies met and the Battle of Chancellorsville commenced.  In an effort to relieve the pressure on the Union forces at Chancellorsville, the VI Corps crossed the Rappahannock River below Fredericksburg, initiating the Battle of Second Fredericksburg.  Overrunning the breastworks of Marye's Heights and pushing the enemy before them, General Sedgewick and the VI Corps continued their march westward.  General Lee, hearing of the successes of the VI Corps, sent reinforcements which stopped the westward march and forced the VI Corps to retire back across the Rappahannock to safety.

      Following the defeat at Chancellorsville, the Army of the Potomac received its final commander of the war, General Meade.  In an effort to blunt the recent invasion of Confederate forces into Maryland and Pennsylvania, General Meade marched the Army of the Potomac northward.  Learning of the savage fighting which occurred at Gettysburg, PA, on July 1st, General Meade ordered all of the remaining Corps to concentrate immediately at Gettysburg.  For the Fifteenth, the resulting march covered 35 miles in 16 hours and brought the Fifteenth to the Gettysburg battlefield on the afternoon of July 2nd.  Arriving exhausted at the rear of the Union left flank, the VI Corps were soon ordered to the vicinity of Little Round Top.  Prior to their arrival, the tide of the fighting had turned and Little Round Top was secured.  The following day, the Fifteenth was placed in the woods between Little Round Top and Cemetery Ridge, allowing a view of the Confederate cannonade and resulting charge that afternoon.  Although several men were wounded during to the cannonade, the Fifteenth was not directly engaged that day.  The following day, the Fifteenth exchanged their Enfield rifles for Springfields which were strewn across the battlefield.

    With the appointment of General Grant as overall commander of Federal forces, VI Corps participated in the Overland Campaign, fighting bravely at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, North Anna, Cold Harbor and Petersburg.  In early July 1864, the Fifteenth, along with the rest of the VI Corps, was sent to Washington to defend the capitol against capture by Confederate forces under Major General Jubal Early. Following the retreat of General Early to the Shenandoah Valley, the VI Corps (including the Fifteenth) was assigned to Major General Philip Sheridan’s Army of the Shenandoah. In September of 1864, the Fifteenth fought in the third battle of Winchester as well as Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek later that year.

      In early December, the VI Corps returned to the siege lines at Petersburg where it camped for the winter. In early April 1865, the Confederate forces under General Lee evacuated the lines around Petersburg and the Fifteenth was part of the pursuit to capture General Lee’s army. The surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865 , ended the war for the men of the Fifteenth.

     The Fifteenth was mustered out of service on June 22, 1865. Of the original enrollment of 947 men, 341 remained to return to New Jersey. During its time in action, the Fifteenth lost 856 men killed or wounded out of the 1,702 men who served in the unit. Of the 240 men killed in action, 190 of them were from the original enrollment of 947.