Tomorrow will be 151 years since the passing of my 2nd Great Grand Uncle in the Battle of Gettysburg. Private George W Adams Civil War Union Soldier. The son of Thomas and Mary Adams, when the Civil War erupted in April 1861 he was a laborer working on the farm of his father in Beverly, New Jersey. A year later, at age 18, he heeded the call to defend the Union, and enlisted in the 12th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry on August 9, 1862. Mustered in as a Private in Company F on September 4, 1862, he had trained with his regiment at Camp Cadwallader in Beverly, very near his home. The men of his unit would not see combat until May of 1863, when it was heavily involved at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where they lost 24 killed, 132 wounded and 22 captured. During the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Private Adams, the farmers son, found himself in the middle of the greatest battle of the war. Arriving on the field after midnight on July 2, he and his comrades were positioned along a stone fence along Cemetery Ridge, which gave them a vantage point to see the open fields between the two armies engaged there. On the Third day of the battle (July 3, 1863) Private Adams Company was tabbed to charge across the field and capture the farmhouses of the Bliss Family, which stood in No Mans Land between the Union and Confederate forces. Already taken by Union forces and relinquished to the Confederates the day before, the morning charge of the 12th New Jersey again captured the buildings and 90 rebels within. However, that charge cost the Jerseymen over 40 casualties, one of which was Private George W. Adams, wounded by an artillery shell in the thigh. He died there on the east side of the farm, never knowing the success his comrades had had in capturing the buildings once more. His remains were recovered after the battle was over, and he was eventually interred in the National Cemetery, where they lie today on Row A, Grave 14 of the New Jersey Plot. — with Adam Brent and 3 others.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 00:46:12 +0000
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