Samuel
M.
Gaul

The History of Camden County New Jersey
George Reeser Prowell - 1886

Regimental History
NEW JERSEY
FOURTH INFANTRY
(Three Years)

Fourth Infantry.--Cols., James H. Simpson, William B. Hatch, William Birney, Edward L. Campbell; Lieut.-Cols., J. L. Kirby Smith, Barzilla Ridgway, Charles Ewing, Baldwin Hufty; Majs., Samuel Mulford, David Vickers. 

The 4th was organized under the provisions of an act of Congress, approved July 22, 1861. It was fully organized, equipped and officered by Aug. 19, at which time it was mustered into the U. S. service for three years, at Camp Olden, Trenton. It left the state the next day with 38 officers, 871 non-commissioned officers and privates, a total of 909. It reached Washington on Aug. 21, accompanied by a battery of 6 pieces, furnished by the state and commanded by Capt. William Hexamer, who had been waiting for six months for an opportunity to enter the service. It was
assigned to the brigade of Gen. Kearney, then consisting of the 1st, 2nd and 3d N. J. regiments.

Immediately after the first battle of Bull Run it joined the brigade near Alexandria, and in the operations along the line of the Orange & Alexandria railroad acted as a support to the advance. Just before the battle of West Point, Va., the brigade relieved the troops in advance and the men lay on their arms in line of battle until daylight, when they were ordered forward, the 4th being held as
a reserve. At the battle at Gaines' Mill the brigade was formed in two lines, the 4th being in the front, and advanced to the brow of a hill, where the 4th was sent into the woods by order of an aid of Gen. McClellan, all the brigade being engaged at the most dangerous and difficult parts of the field,
until at last, wearied, bleeding, ammunition exhausted, the brigade slowly retired and crossing the bridge at 11 o'clock, reached its old camp about midnight, having sustained a total loss of over 1,000 men in killed and wounded, of whom some 500, belonging to the 4th were captured in a body, having refused to retreat from the woods when they might have done so, and continuing to fight until completely surrounded. Besides this loss in prisoners the regiment lost 38 killed and 111 wounded.
The regiment participated in the battles of Charles City cross-roads, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, Manassas, Chantilly and Crampton's Gap, the total loss of the brigade during the latter
engagement being 174 in killed and wounded, Adjt. Studdiford being among the slain. 

It took part in the movement against Fredericksburg, but in the Gettysburg campaign the 4th was
detailed for provost duty in Washington. It was back with the brigade again in time for the spring campaign of 1864. At the battle of the Wilderness the 1st, 4th and 10th regiments, lying on the left, were several times attacked with great ferocity by the Confederates, but at nightfall still held substantially the ground occupied by them in the morning--a heavy assault by the Confederate Gen. Gordon just at dusk being repulsed with heroic Gallantry. Among the wounded in that engagement was Lieut.-Col. Van Syckel of the 4th. At the battle of Spottsylvania the regiment participated in the charge upon the "bloody angle," winning its share of the glory and sustaining its share of casualties. During the first eleven days of Grant's campaign against Richmond the regiment lost 26 killed, 126 wounded and 42 missing. The 4th fought at the North Anna river, Hanover Court House, Totopotomoy creek, Cold Harbor, Weldon railroad, Snicker's gap, Strasburg, Winchester and Charlestown. At the battle of the Opequan the 4th was with the troops that pressed forward, swept up the opposite hill and forced back the Confederate line, obtaining permanent possession of the hill
and holding it, though constantly exposed to a fire which inflicted severe loss, the 4th having 2 killed, 18 wounded and 1 missing. At Fisher's hill a private of the 4th named Beach compelled a Confederate lieutenant-colonel to surrender his sword, and there were other instances of daring no less noteworthy.

After Lee's surrender the regiment was assigned to what was known as the provisional corps, Army of the Potomac, until mustered out on July 9, 1865. The total strength of the regiment was 2,036, and it lost during service 29 by resignation, 319 by discharge, 83 by promotion, 81 by transfer, 257 by death, 372 by desertion, 3 by dismissal, 109 not accounted for, mustered out 783.

Source: The Union Army, vol. 3

Battles Fought

Fought on 28 October 1861 at Mason's Hill, VA.
Fought on 27 June 1862 at Gaines Farm, VA.
Fought on 27 June 1862 at Gaines' Mill, VA.
Fought on 27 August 1862 at Manassas, VA.
Fought on 14 September 1862 at Crampton's Gap, MD.
Fought on 13 December 1862 at Fredericksburg, VA.
Fought on 05 May 1864 at Wilderness, VA.
Fought on 06 May 1864 at Wilderness, VA.
Fought on 11 May 1864 at Spotsylvania Court House, VA.
Fought on 12 May 1864 at Spotsylvania Court House, VA.
Fought on 18 May 1864.
Fought on 24 May 1864 at North Anna River, VA.
Fought on 01 June 1864 at Cold Harbor, VA.
Fought on 02 June 1864 at Cold Harbor, VA.
Fought on 03 June 1864 at Cold Harbor, VA.
Fought on 13 June 1864 at Petersburg, VA.
Fought on 18 July 1864 at Snicker's Ford, VA.
Fought on 17 August 1864 at Winchester, VA.
Fought on 19 September 1864 at Opequan, VA.
Fought on 19 September 1864 at Winchester, VA.
Fought on 19 October 1864 at Cedar Creek, VA.
Fought on 06 January 1865 at Petersburg, VA.
Fought on 31 March 1865 at Petersburg, VA.
Fought on 02 April 1865 at Petersburg, VA.

J. Kelley Brown - James H. Townsend
Samuel M. Gaul - William Wiatt - John Stevens
J. Harned Morris - Thomas A. Wilson
Christopher J. Mines Jr. - Henry S. Bender
A.J. Morris - James R. Kerns - Charles Wood
A.D. Nichols - Edward Cline - George G. Bundick Richard Perks - H.B. Wilson - John Osler
John W. Campbell - Charles Parker Jr.
Anthony Kobus

July 1, 1872

J.L. Mason
George Alloways
Henry Garner
Lewis Saunders
Charles Verga

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Officer Charles S. Cotting has resigned from his position on the police force of Camden and William A. White, ex-officer, has been appointed by Mayor Gaul in his place.  

Civil War Pension Record

The following is derived from
George Reeser Prowell's
History of Camden County, N.J.
published in 1886

WILLIAM B. HATCH POST No. 37, of Camden, was instituted and chartered November 25, 1879, with eighty-one members and the following named Post officers:

Post Commander, John E. Grubb ; Senior Vice-Commander, Richard J. Robertson; Junior Vice-Commander, Daniel J. Fullen ; Surgeon, Thomas G. Rowand, M.D.; Chaplain, John Quick ; Officer of the Day, John A. Dall; Officer of the Guard, Edmund G. Jackson, Jr.; Quartermaster, Christopher J. Mines, Jr.; Adjutant, Benjamin J. Pierce; Sergeant-Major, William A.Tattern; Quartermaster-Sergeant, William B. E. Miller.

At the first meeting of the Post it was decided by a unanimous vote to name it in honor of the late Colonel William B. Hatch, of the Fourth Regiment. When Mrs. C. Hatch, the mother of the colonel was informed that the post had honored the memory of her son by naming it after him, she sent to the Post the following response :

Camden N. J.,
November 26th, 1879

 John E. Grubb, Post Commander

Dear Sir,
                It will afford me much pleasure to be identified with Post 37, G. A. E., named in honor of my son, William B. Hatch, by allowing me to present to the same its colors. The memory of my son is ever dear to me, and, while at the same moment I may have thought the sacrifice too great an affliction, yet I was consoled by the fact that I gave him up that this Union might be preserved. It was duty and patriotism that called him, and while I mourn him as a mother for a well-beloved son, yet I would not have stayed him, for the love of country and the upholding of this glorious Republic is what every mother should instill into her sons, as the purest and holiest spirit.

Yours truly,

C. Hatch

The following is a complete roster of this post for 1886 :

Post Commander, Benjamin H. Connelly; Senior Vice-Commander, Adam C. Smith ; Junior Vice-Commander, William Haegele; Surgeon, George Pfau ; Chaplain, Samuel Gaul; Officer of the Day, Robert Crawford ; Officer of the Guard, John D. Cooper; Quartermaster, Samuel J. Fenner; Adjutant, William B. Summers; Sergeant-Major, Stacy H. Bassett; Quartermaster-Sergeant, Otto K. Lockhart.

Comrades: Philip Achenbach, George L. Allchin, Isaac Albertson, Joseph Applegate, John W. Barclay, Martin M. Barney, Joseph Baxter, William W. Bennett, Charles L. Bennett, Henry Bickering, Abel Biddle, George K. Biddle, John Bieri, Robert M. Bingham, Socrates T. Bittle, George W. Bittle,  Benjamin F. Blizzard, Joseph Borton, Frederick Bowers, Benjamin M. Braker, John Breyer, William H. Brians, Wm. J. Broadwater, William Broadwater, John Brown, Harris Brooks, William H. Brooks, Joseph F. Bryan, Joseph Buddew, J. Q. Burniston, George Burton,  Frederick Buser, Thomas L. Bush,  William Butcher, Isaac B. Buzby, Edward C. Cattell, Joseph Cameron,  James H. Carey, William Carey, James Chadwick, James Chafey, George M. Chester, James D. Chester, Lewis L. Chew, Henry S. Chew, John W. Churn,  Andrew B. Cline, Charles Clarke, Samuel J. Cook, Levi E. Cole, John J. Collins, John C. Cooper, John W. Cotner, Thomas L. Conly, Harvey M. Cox, Jason S. Cox, Harris Crane, Charles Cress, Joel G. Cross, O. C. Cunningham, John A. Dall, John Dalby, John H. Damon, Westley Dare, John E. Dawson, Adam T. Dawson, James L. Davis, William Davis, Amos R. Dease, Henry Deford, Lewis F. Derousse, Michael Devinney, Glendora Devo, John Digney, Joseph Dilks, William A. Dobbins, George W. Dunlap, Aaron B. Eacritt, John J. Early, Christopher Ebele, Godfrey Eisenhart, John Elberson, Charles Elwell, Charles Eminecker, John Esler, John H. Evans, Charles S. Fackler, James Fanington, James A. Farraday, John H. Farry, John Faughey, Wm. H. Fenlin, George G. Felton, George W. Ferguson, Charles W. Fish, Israel L. Fish, James Finnan, Samuel B. Fisher, Edward L. Fisher, Ephraim B. Fithian, Jacob T. Fisher, Edward Fitzer, Samuel Flock, Leonard Flor, John Fox, John S. Fox, H. H. Franks, Chas. B. Frazer, Thomas J. Francis, Samuel W. Gahan, Chas. H. Gale, James Galbraith, Thomas Garman, Harry Garren, John W. Garwood, Josiah Garrison, John B. Gaskill, Richard Gaunt, Wm. German, Christopher Getsinger, Christopher Gifney, Jacob Giffens, Albert Gilbert, James Gillen, Wm. Giffins, C. C. Greany, Charles Green, W. H. Griffin, Louis Grosskops, William Grindrod, John B. Grubb, Mark H. Guest, John Guice, Alfred Haines, Charles G. Haines, Japhet Haines, George F. Hammond, Charles Hall, Solon B. Hankinson, Samuel P. Hankinson, James Hanson, Charles Hannans, H. A. Hartranft, Mahlon E. Harden, William F. Harper, George W. Hayter, Samuel B. Harbeson, J. T. Hazleton, H. Heinman, James Henderson, William H. Heward, Franklin Hewitt, James T. Hemmingway, Charles Hewitt, Edward K. Hess, Samuel B. Hickman, George Higgens, Ephraim Hillman, C. M. Hoagland, Guadaloupe Holl, William A. Holland, Isaac K. Horner, Count D. G. Hogan, William H. Howard, Baxter Howe, Alien Hubbs, Charles G. Hunsinger, Presmel D. Hughes, I. N. Hugg, Sebastian Hummell, Edward Hutchinson, C. Innes, Alfred Ivins, Benjamin Ivins, E. G. Jackson Sr., E. G. Jackson Jr., Thomas Jameson, George Jauss, William P. Jenkins, James L. Johnson, Alfred Jones, B. F. Jones, William Joline, Charles Joseph, Charles Justice, C. H. Kain, E. E. Kates, Benjamin Kebler, Frank Kebler, Peter Keen, Henry N. Killian, J. W. Kinsey, C. H. Knowlton, Thomas W. Krips, Joseph H. Large, John E. Leake, John Lecroy, Charles Leonhart, George W. Locke, E. J. Long, Charles L. Lukens, J. H. Lupton, Valentine Machemer, Edward Macloskey, Edward A. Martin, William P. Marsh, John Mapes, William Mead, William Metcalf, E. A. Meyer, C. Meyers, George Meilor, C. A. Michener, William B. E. Miller, Jacob Miller, W. D. Miller, Samuel Mills, William W. Mines, Christopher J. Mines, George Molesbury, William. Moran, Edward More, Richard Morgan, John F. Moore, S. H. Moyer, Jacob L. Morton, John Muir, John J. Murphy, Isaac Murray, Charles Myers, W. H. McAllister, James McCracken, Edward C. McDowell, Hugh McGrogan, H. M. Mcllvaine, W. F. McKillip, W.J.McNeir, Lewis McPherson, E. McPherson, Jacob Naglee, William Naphas, Antonio Nosardi, Robert O'Keefe, John S. Owens, Robert Owens, Edward H. Pancoast, James Pancoast, Robert B. Patterson, William Patterson, E. W. Pease, John B. Pepper, Joel Perrine, John Peterson, D. E. Peugh, Frederick Phile, Samuel B. Pine, William M. Pine, Adon Powell, John Powell, John Portz, J. B. Prucelle, John Quick, S. E. Radcliffe, Isaac C. Randolph, James A. Regens, Philip Reilly, Charles P. Reynolds, Alexander Rhodes, Benjamin F. Richard, Andrew Ridgway, Benjamin Robbins, Edward C. Roberts, James Roberts, Richard J. Robertson, William B. Robertson, Isaac Rogers, John Rogers, William H. Rogers, Thomas G. Rowand, Sebastian Schaub, Maurice Schmidt, Christian K. Schallers, James Schofield, George W. Scott, John E. Scott, John M. Shemelia, Edward M. Siemers, John Simmons, Benjamin F. Shinn, Thomas Sheeran, James Shield, Charles Smith, George H. Smith, William W. Smith, Charles S. Small, Adolph Snow, W. Souder, Francis Senders, Robert Sparks, David C. Sprowl, Alfred L. Sparks, Abraham Springer, George W. Stewart, William L. Stevenson, Thomas G. Stephenson, Samuel R. Stockton, Thomas Stockton, Thomas H. Stone, Henry Strick, E. J. Strickland, Charles String, George F. Stull, George W. Swaney, Crosby Sweeten, William F. Tarr, William A. Tatem, Thomas S. Tanier, George Rudolph Tenner, Charles L. Test, Leonard Thomas, Benjamin Thomas, Henry C. Thomas, George F. Thorne, Wesley Thorn, Thomas W. Thornley, Alexander W. Titus, Joseph Tompkins, J. E. Troth, Isaac C. Toone, Samuel Tyier, Jacob M. Van Nest, Albert Vansciver, Joseph Wakeman, Theodore F. Walker, Charles Walton, George Walton, Joseph Welsh, David Watson, George W. Wentling, Edward West, Elmer M. West, George Weyman, Wilmer Whillden, James Whittaker, Samuel Wickward, Calvin T. Williams,  George W. Williams,  William H. Williams, John Williams, Samuel Winner, Amos P. Wilson, D.H. Wilson, G.A. Wilson, Richard Wilson, George Wispert, John W. Wood, Joseph Woodfield, Walter Wolfkill, E. W. Wolverton, Elijah Worthington, C. M. Wright, George B. Wright, Henry S. Wright, Wesley T. Wright, William Zane. 

As of 1886, the Hatch Post met every Thursday evening in their own G. A. R. Hall, on Stevens Street, below Fifth Street. This same building had been used in the late 1870s as the original home of the congregation that formed the Tabernacle Baptist Church. The Hatch Post was affiliated with Hatch League No. 2, of the Loyal Ladies League, their auxiliary, which met at the Post Hall.

Philadelphia Inquirer - November 12, 1889

TRENTON TIMES - August 28, 1895