First New Jersey Brigade The First New Jersey Brigade ( also called the First Jersey Brigade and Kearny ' s New Jersey Brigade ) is the common name for an American Civil War brigade of New Jersey infantry regiments in the Union Army of the Potomac . Its official designation through most of its service was as the 1st Brigade , 1st Division , VI Corps . Beginnings and early service . Through the course of the Civil War , the brigade was composed entirely of units from New Jersey , the only Union brigade during the war to be constituted as such . Its origins were on May 4 , 1861 , when New Jersey was directed by the Federal government to fill a quota of three infantry regiments to serve a three - year term of enlistment . Recruitment took place for the new regiments all over the state , and on May 21 , 1861 , the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry was mustered into the Union Army at Camp Olden in Trenton , New Jersey , under Maj . Theodore T . S . Laidley of the United States Regular Army . The 1st New Jersey was then followed into Federal service by the 2nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry ( May 28 , 1861 ) and the 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry . On June 28 , 1861 , the three newly created three - year regiments began the journey to Virginia , where in June they were joined with a brigade of three - month enlistment New Jersey Militia regiments to form a division commanded by Brig . Gen . Theodore Runyon . This was the first time the New Jersey regiments officially formed the brigade . During the First Bull Run Campaign , most of the brigade saw service in the field guarding train hubs , supply depots and roadways , being considered too " green " to be reliable in combat . However , a few companies of the 1st and 2nd New Jersey Infantries were directed to help stem the retreat at Centreville , Virginia , after the Confederates routed General Irvin McDowell ' s forces at Manassas , Virginia , on July 21 , 1861 . They were unsuccessful , and many officers and men retreated in the rout as well . In August 1861 , the 4th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry was recruited and added to the First New Jersey Brigade after its muster into service . From that point on , the four regiments and their later remnants would serve together until the end of the war and their final discharge . Later service . As the war progressed , more regiments were added to the brigade , but in keeping with its tradition , they were New Jersey units . In September 1862 , the nine - month enlistment unit 23rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry and the three - year 15th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry were added , with the 23rd New Jersey serving until June 1863 and the 15th New Jersey serving until the end of the war . On April 19 , 1864 , the 10th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry " Olden ' s Legion " was added . In March 1865 the 40th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry — the last raised by the state — was brigaded with the original units . The brigade saw its first pitched battle rather late , as it fought in the June 27 , 1862 , Battle of Gaines ' Mill during the Seven Days Battles . There it sustained heavy casualties , with most of the 4th New Jersey being captured by Confederate forces . The 4th New Jersey ' s men were subsequently released in a prisoner exchange and returned to their lines , but they lost the Model 1861 Springfield Rifle s they ' d been carrying . Since none were available to rearm the regiment , they were issued old . 69 caliber smoothbore muskets . It then fought in the Second Bull Run Campaign , where it blundered into the entire Confederate army corps commanded by Major General Stonewall Jackson , and at Crampton ' s Gap during the Battle of South Mountain , where it redeemed its honor by making a triumphant charge up the hill . The 4th New Jersey managed to reequip itself with . 58 caliber rifles dropped by the Confederates . Later engagements included Fredericksburg , Chancellorsville , Gettysburg , the Wilderness , Spotsylvania , Cold Harbor , Strasburg , Fisher ' s Hill , and Cedar Creek . Regiments . First New Jersey Infantry Service in brigade : June 1861 – June 3 , 1864 153 killed or died of wounds and 99 died of disease or accidents Second New Jersey Infantry Service in brigade : June 1861 – May 21 , 1864 96 killed or died of wounds and 69 died of disease or accidents Third New Jersey Infantry Service in brigade : June 1861 – June 3 , 1864 157 killed or died of wounds and 81 died of disease or accidents Fourth New Jersey Infantry Service in brigade : June 1861 – June 22 , 1865 161 killed or died of wounds and 105 died of disease or accidents Tenth New Jersey Infantry " Olden Legion " Service in brigade : April 19 , 1864 – June 22 , 1865 93 killed or died of wounds and 190 Died of disease or accidents Fifteenth New Jersey Infantry " Fighting Fifteenth " Service in brigade : September 30 , 1862 – June 22 , 1865 240 killed or died of wounds and 132 died of disease or accidents . Twenty - Third New Jersey Infantry Service in brigade : October 8 , 1862 – June 27 , 1863 35 killed or died of wounds and 55 died of disease or accidents Fortieth New Jersey Infantry Service in brigade : February 2 , 1865 – July 13 , 1865 2 killed or died of wounds and 17 died of disease or accidents Commanders . The brigade ' s first commander was Brig . Gen . Philip Kearny , whose training and discipline molded the regiments into an effective fighting unit . He was succeeded by George W . Taylor , who was Colonel of the 3rd New Jersey . Taylor was promoted to brigadier general soon after assuming command of the brigade . After his mortal wounding at the Second Battle of Bull Run , the leadership of the brigade went to Alfred Thomas Torbert , who was serving as Colonel of the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry . Subsequent commanders were Col . Henry Brown ( 3rd New Jersey ) , Col . William H . Penrose ( 15th New Jersey ) , and Capt . Baldwin Hufty ( 4th New Jersey ) . Medal of Honor recipients . Six soldiers from the First New Jersey Brigade received the Medal of Honor for bravery : Monuments . A large monument dedicated to the First New Jersey Brigade stands on Weikert Hill in the Gettysburg National Military Park , marking the general location where the brigade was positioned during the battle .