CIVIL WAR

You can find the words in bold at the end of the page in the Glossary, with links to definitions.

The Civil War and New Jersey

The Civil War (1861-1865) decided the fate of slavery in the United States. Today, some argue that the War was about the right of states to avoid too much of the US government's control. However, in the Articles of Secession (which prompted the Civil War), the words "slavery," "slave," and "slave-holding," as well as other words related to the dehumanizing practice of slavery, appear dozens of times in the reasons Southern states gave for trying to leave the Union. Many in the South were financially threatened by the loss of free labor with the end of slavery, and their demand for slaves fueled the slave-catching industry in the North (this industry was present in New Brunswick).

Abolition was not popular in New Jersey. NJ residents wished to avoid the Civil War rather than end slavery (Bilby, 6). Many New Jerseyans also worried that freed men from the South would move north and take jobs away from NJ residents. In early 1863, a proposed bill from Trenton forbade the immigration of Black families into the state unless Southern slave owners brought them in as property. Many pieces of legislation like this were proposed during the war, but never passed (9).

NJ's Black Soldiers

During the Civil War, soldiers were recruited from New Jersey to the Union military in several waves. The first wave was volunteer enlistment; male citizens could sign up to join the army on their own. Black soldiers were not recruited in this wave. Although abolitionist leaders like Frederick Douglass argued for the enlistment of free Black soldiers, the NJ state government delayed it in order to continue trade with Southern states. Governor Joel Parker (1863-1866; 1872-1875) avoided official and citizen-organized recruiting committees for Black soldiers, and went as far as recruiting people from other countries instead (13).

However, later on, the Union still needed more soldiers, so for the second wave, Congress ran the Civil War Military Draft of 1863 (also known as the Enrollment Act). Black soldiers were enlisted as well in 1863 since the provisions of the Emancipation Proclamation had allowed for Black men to serve in the military. Under this draft, a total of 2,909 Black soldiers were enlisted from New Jersey. The Black soldiers were not placed in any of the 40 New Jersey regiments, but were organized into the United States Colored Troops (USCT) in Philadelphia, directly under the U.S. Secretary of War. Others joined the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, a unit that recruited across all Northern states (10).

The money paid to military volunteers in different areas of NJ was unequal. For example, in Marlboro, both races were offered $300 for joining the Navy. However, in Monmouth County, Black volunteers were offered $100 enlistment fees, while white volunteers were offered $200. In 1864, however, Congress authorized equal pay among free Black soldiers and white soldiers. Soldiers who were slaves at the outbreak of war were not granted pay equity until end of war (29).