Jersey Shore Civil War Roundtable

08/26/2026

Member Cathryn Hondros visited a Civil War monument located in Brainerd Cemetery in Cranbury, New Jersey honoring the sacrifice of soldiers from that town. Included in those memorialized is Sergeant William H. Craig who served in the 105th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
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William H. Craig was born in 1827 at County Mayo, Ireland. By 1850, he immigrated to the United States and was living in South Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey. He worked the shoemaker’s trade with Harman Conover and resided in his household.

In March 1854, William married Harman’s daughter Jane Conover. In 1856, son James was born. About 1857, the young family moved to Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio where William continued to work as a shoemaker. Son William was born in 1858 and son Joseph followed in 1861.

On July 26, 1862, William enlisted into Company A of the 105th Ohio Volunteer Inventory with the rank of Corporal. During his service, he was promoted to Sergeant. Sadly, he was killed in action on the second day of the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863.

William is recognized on the soldier’s monument in Brainerd Cemetery at Cranbury, New Jersey which was erected and dedicated shortly after the Civil War in 1866. His service is incorrectly attributed to Company H of the 84th Ohio on this monument.

How are we sure the attribution is incorrect?
First, William Craig’s Civil War related documents, namely his wife and minor’s pension applications, reference only the 105th OVI. If there was other service, it would have been stated in those documents.
Second, the official roster of the 84th OVI does not include anyone named William Craig.

A Conover served in the 84th OVI and survived the war. Possibly this was a reason for the regimental mix-up back in the day.

Widow Jane collected a military pension for both herself and her children until she married Irishman Joseph Kately in December 1866 and they had at least six children. When Joseph passed in 1910, Jane’s military pension resumed until her death in Minnesota in 1916.

His sons James and Joseph raised their families in Hennepin County, Minnesota and son William raised his family in Mahoning County, Ohio.

08/24/2026

Coming 13 September in Lacey Township— a celebration of Revolutionary War General John Lacey!

08/18/2026

From our friend Greg Caggiano…

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EitUnRSvf/

08/15/2026

From our friend Greg Caggiano…

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1010550045156363

08/13/2026

Member Cathryn Hondros visited the grave of 1st Lieutenant Francis M. Judd who started his Civil War military service in the 105th OVI.
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Francis M. Judd (Frank) was born in 1834 in New York state. He was the son of Joseph Judd and Abigail Mann.

The 1850 census of Leroy Township, Lake County, Ohio shows him to be the middle son of three sons. His brothers were Ira and Richard. The three brothers had a younger sister named Adelia Hila (Addie).

Francis married his 1st wife Ellen Wi******er on October 14, 1856 in Lake County, Ohio. He was 21 and she was 17. They had one daughter, Carrie, who was born in December 1857. She was named after her mother’s sister.

Francis served in three different U.S. Civil War regiments.

Francis first enlisted into Company D of the 105th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on August 6, 1862 at age 28 and was made Corporal. He may have been recruited by 2d Lt. Alonzo Chubb who recruited the majority of Company D. His service with the 105th proved to be short as Francis was wounded in the 105th’s first battle, the Battle of Perryville, on October 8, 1862. He was wounded twice — slightly in the hand and in the thigh.

On July 27, 1863 Francis was transferred to Company I, 8th Regiment, Veteran's Reserve Corps. Again he served in the rank of Corporal. The V. R. C. of the Civil War was created to make use of soldiers who had been rendered unfit for active field service on account of wounds or disease contracted in line of duty, but who were still fit for garrison or other light duty, and were, in the opinion of their commanding officers, meritorious and deserving.

By January 28, 1865, Francis qualified to become an officer in the U.S.C.T. He obtained an appointment as 1st Lieutenant of the 8th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery. The 8th had been the first colored artillery regiment raised in Kentucky. During Francis’ service, this regiment primarily manned cannons in garrison duty at Fort Anderson in Paducah, Kentucky located at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers.

He led this regiment through the end of the Civil War, tendering his resignation on May 8, 1865 at City Point, Virginia citing the delicate health of his family. The resignation was accepted by Major D. P. Long the following day and Francis was mustered out on May 13, 1865.

The 1865 census of Landis Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey conducted finds Francis living alone.

His little daughter Carrie had passed away while he was in the service in 1862 at four years ten months old. His wife Ellen passed away on July 27, 1866.

Shortly after, possibly in 1867, Francis married Gertrude Harriman. He was about 31 and she was about 22.

He died on July 24, 1868. A death return obtained from the New Jersey State Archives for Landis Township, Cumberland County provides the additional details that his occupation was Mechanic and his cause of death was chronic diarrhea.

Francis is buried at Siloam Cemetery in Vineland, Cumberland County, New Jersey in block 19, lot 12, grave 1. His father, mother and sister Addie are also buried in the same block and lot. Their graves are unmarked.

There is also a marker for Frank at Middle Ridge Cemetery in Madison, Lake County, Ohio alongside his first wife Ellen and daughter Carrie.

Gertrude collected a widow’s military pension until her death in 1921.

In 1939, as part of a WPA program, a WWI veteran and member of the Cumberland County American Legion named George Bloomenstein arranged for a military headstone to be placed on Francis Judd’s grave at Siloam Cemetery.

08/11/2026

08/11/2026

Jersey Shore Civil War Roundtable kick-off meeting for 2026-27 season.

9 Sept 2026, 7pm
Bartlett Hall, Room 203
Ocean County College

Gettysburg: From the Aftermath to the Address
By Greg Caggiano

08/10/2026

Our members are reading this summer! Check out John Chaballa’s review of “Monitor: The Story of the Legendary Civil War Ironclad and the Man Whose Invention Changed the Course of History” by James Tertius deKay. Thank you for sharing John!

To read this book is to come away with a fundamental understanding of the remarkable genius of John Ericsson. More than that, it is also a fascinating story of how a group of northern businessmen came together to promote and participate in the building of this remarkable naval innovation, in a critically short time, to counter the rumored confederate development of their own ironclad warship.

The navy was suspicious of Ericsson because of an incident years before regarding the explosion of a poorly designed cannon on the USS Princeton that resulted in the deaths of a group of high-ranking cabinet officials that was wrongly attributed to Ericsson but was instead the fault of a naval officer and politician named Robert Stockton. Ericsson, for his part, was also left suspicious of the navy and their motivations.

Ericsson had been working on the concept of a “sub-aquatic system of naval warfare” since at least 1826. In the intermediate years he had also invented the screw propeller and a vastly improved marine engine that together made trans ocean travel possible without the need for massive side paddle wheels to propel the ship.

But it was Cornelius Bushnell, a New Haven venture capitalist, seeing the benefits of his design, who managed to get the difficult and irascible Ericsson, by a subtle subterfuge, to come to Washington to argue for his plan. The resulting design of the Monitor was entirely the work of this one man, while its construction was handled by a consortium of businessmen working in close cooperation to see that this remarkable craft became a reality. And while the Monitor had at least 60 patent-able inventions built into it, Ericsson never tried to capitalize on any one of them at the government’s expense. But we must also note that for all its innovations, the Monitor was a flawed craft which was never intended for an ocean voyage, and indeed almost sank on its journey from New York to its destiny in Virginia.

This story also explores the development of the CSS Virginia, a poorly designed ship that nevertheless did what it was intended to, in the day prior to that fateful meeting in Hampton Roads. But its development, in contrast with the Monitor’s, demonstrates why the confederacy never had the resources to carry out a successful war, and was destined to suffer the consequences.

A book well worth the time to digest it.

https://a.co/d/06FNfrIB

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

08/09/2026

Our friends at the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table sent us details about their August meeting.

The Old Baldy Civil War Roundtable
Meeting of Thursday, August 13, 2026 7:15 PM ET ZOOM ONLY

Free and open to the public. Zoom. Please email [email protected] at least 24 hrs prior to request Zoom access.

Title of the presentation: Meade’s Generals: Army of the Potomac Command Friction on July 1 at Gettysburg

Speaker/Author: James Hessler

Meade’s Generals: Army of the Potomac Command Friction on July 1 at Gettysburg

The first day of the Battle of Gettysburg is often labeled a Confederate victory, yet it set the stage for the Army of the Potomac’s ultimate victory. While historians frequently emphasize the mistakes and missed opportunities within Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, the equally important story of how Union commanders managed and overcame command friction on July 1 is often overlooked.

Did newly appointed army commander George Meade intend to fight on Pipe Creek instead of Gettysburg? Did First Corps leaders John Reynolds and Abner Doubleday disregard Meade’s intentions? Did Eleventh Corps commander Oliver Howard lose the day but ultimately win the battle?

Join Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide, author, and Battle of Gettysburg Podcast co-host James Hessler for an in-depth look at the Army of the Potomac’s command challenges on July 1. This program draws from Hessler’s recent book, The First Day at Gettysburg (Casemate, 2025).

About the Speaker

James Hessler is a historian, author, and Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, where he has been interpreting the battle since 2003. He is the author or co-author of four books on the Gettysburg Campaign: Sickles at Gettysburg (2009), Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg (2015, with Wayne Motts), Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard (2019, with Britt Isenberg), and his most recent release, The First Day at Gettysburg (2025). His work has earned several distinguished book awards. He has also published articles in outlets such as Gettysburg Magazine.

Beyond his publications, Hessler co-created and hosts the popular Battle of Gettysburg Podcast, reaching a global audience of history enthusiasts. He has appeared as a public historian in major media such as the History Channel, NPR, Travel Channel, PCN-TV, and in programs and content development with the American Battlefield Trust.

Hessler is a frequent speaker at Civil War Round Tables and other historical organizations nationwide. His willingness to tackle controversial subjects continues to spark discussion and deepen understanding of Gettysburg’s enduring story. Besides Gettysburg, Hessler has led battlefield tours at numerous sites across the country. He currently serves in a board or advisory capacity for Gettysburg History (Adams County Historical Society), Gettysburg Museum of History, and the Little Bighorn Associates.

To Order Jim’s Book

https://www.casematepublishers.com/9781636244792/the-first-day-at-gettysburg-july-1-1863/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1636244793?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback