On February 9,1862, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Heckman, of Phillipsburg, filed a report with NJ Governor Olden on the Ninth NJ Volunteer Regiment's actions during the Roanoke Island battle.
Heckman wrote, "Sir, I have the honor to report the following as the part taken by New Jersey's Ninth regiment in yesterday's battle, and victory of the
union forces. About three P.M. on the seventh, under cover of the heavy cannonade of our navy, our little army composed of three brigades, first, General John G. Foster; second, General Jesse L. Reno; third, General John G. Parke, effected an unopposed landing. It bivouacked in a cornfield, and under the beating of a piteously severe storm gained its first experience in practical service. At six A.M. on the eighth the command 'forward' was given. The advance (Foster's brigade) soon engaged the enemy, and notwithstanding the obstacles encountered steadily pushed forward, and finally forced the enemy behind his works, but could make no further progress. The foe was thoroughly entrenched in a fort (Defiance) located on the north side of a clearing, about four hundred yards square, on a point of land protected by water in its front and right and left flanks, which they believed to be impassable for troops. The only solid ground available to the Union troops was a narrow cart road, which led from our bivouac ground in a southerly direction for about two miles, when it changes direction to the eastward, and at about two hundred yards further on, again changes to the north for the same distance, when it is cut by the ditch of the fort. The nature of the ground prevented any proper formation for assault, and Foster's brigade was held in check by the well-directed artillery and small arms of the enemy. Meanwhile, the men of the second brigade, who remained inactive about a quarter of a mile from the forces engaged, waited eagerly for orders to advance to the relief of their comrades. Presently, in their stead, stretchers bearing the dead and wounded passed by them i9n a narrow road to the rear. I greatly feared its effect on my raw troops, but the tremor was only momentary. At eight o'clock an orderly appeared and delivered an order for the Ninth New Jersey to pass the Fifty-first New York (the Twenty-first Massachusetts men deployed on our left flank) and re3port at the front to General Foster, commanding the troops engaged. That order was executed in quick time, with files well closed up. The general ordered me to form regiment in column by company, enter the swamp on our left, and engage the enemy. Into the swamp, thigh deep in mud and water, the Ninth advanced to the edge of the timber, when it formed column by division at half distance, about one hundred yards from the right front of the fort, which completely covered the cart road, and defied assault from that direction. Our first division opened a vigorous fire, which was returned with great vehemence. The part of the regiment not engaged were orde3red to squat in the water, securing their ammunition from damage. After a short time the first division was relieved by the second, and at length, the second by the third. Presently, their effective firing was visible in the sudden slacking of the enemy's musketry. Their battery still fired rapidly, but doing little damage to us. Particular attention was now directed to the cannoneers, and the result was soon apparent. So accurate was the aim of our men that all the guns were silenced except the one in the centre embrasure. Selecting three marksmen of company D, they, at a given signal, fired into that embrasure, and silenced the last gun fired in defence of Roanoke Island.
"The victory was ours, but the query, who shall be first to enter the fort was unanswered. Hawkins' Zouaves (9th New York), 'who had previously made a charge by the road, but were repulsed,' were on solid ground. One hundred yards of water was between us and the fort. The order 'charge' was given, and a rush (go-as-you-please) was made, and the Ninth New Jersey (a squad of them) won the prize. Simultaneously the colonel and major of the Twenty-first Massachusetts, and Major Kimball, of the Ninth New York (Hawkins' Zouaves) entered the works, at opposite points. Each of them mounted a gun, and gave us a short, impromptu speech, and each claimed to have captured the fort. And it must have been so, for those of us who were in the battery when they arrived declined to contradict them. On entering the fort we found but two living souls - one a negro (servant of Colonel Shaw), the other Lieutenant Selden, of Wise's Legion, who was mortally wounded by three rifle balls. This intrepid Confederate, had alone, as he told me, loaded and fired that centre gun three times, and as he fired his fourth and last round, received a message from those unerring rifles of Company D, which ended his earthly career.
"On being driven from Fort Defiance, the enemy retreated to the north point of the Island, stacked their arms, and waited the approach of our troops, when an unconditional surrender was made. The trophies are4 five forts, thirty-three pieces of artillery, two thousand eight hundred prisoners, with small arms, stores, etc. Fort Defiance was unquestionably the key to the rebel's position, and the occupation of the swamp on it's right flank (by the Ninth New Jersey) secured the great success of the day. After the battle, the Confederates admitted that they believed it impossible for 'troops to operate in that swamp.' The loss of the Ninth is nine killed and twenty-five wounded, a full list of which will be sent to you at an early date. Captain Joseph J. Henry, of Company H, who was killed by a round shot, was an accomplished, genial gentleman, and a gallant officer of great promise. He fell as he would have chosen to fall, at the head of his division. Isaac V. D. Blackwell, of Company F, a Christian gentleman, and brave soldier, expired in his brother's arms. His last words were, 'Remember thy God.'
"Among the wounded the brave corporal, John Lorence, and Jonathan A. Bural, of Company K, deserve special mention. They have performed their whole duty to their country, and their country should never forget their sacrifice for the preservation of the Union .
"The gallant behavior of the officers and men of the regiment, in its first engagement, prevents my making mention of individual bravery. But I cannot refrain from expressing my admiration for our gallant young adjutant, Abram Zabriskie, who during the whole of the battle manifested the self-possession of a veteran. That the future of the Ninth will be replete with brilliant deeds, I fully believe; and that the honor of the country and our flag will not be tarnished by any act of hers. From first to last its conduct was, in the highest, courageous.
"The value of the Union, in this conquest, will readily appear in a glance at a map of Virginia and North Carolina. It is the key to the rear of all the defences of Norfolk and Portsmouth."
"The victory was ours, but the query, who shall be first to enter the fort was unanswered. Hawkins' Zouaves (9th New York), 'who had previously made a charge by the road, but were repulsed,' were on solid ground. One hundred yards of water was between us and the fort. The order 'charge' was given, and a rush (go-as-you-please) was made, and the Ninth New Jersey (a squad of them) won the prize. Simultaneously the colonel and major of the Twenty-first Massachusetts, and Major Kimball, of the Ninth New York (Hawkins' Zouaves) entered the works, at opposite points. Each of them mounted a gun, and gave us a short, impromptu speech, and each claimed to have captured the fort. And it must have been so, for those of us who were in the battery when they arrived declined to contradict them. On entering the fort we found but two living souls - one a negro (servant of Colonel Shaw), the other Lieutenant Selden, of Wise's Legion, who was mortally wounded by three rifle balls. This intrepid Confederate, had alone, as he told me, loaded and fired that centre gun three times, and as he fired his fourth and last round, received a message from those unerring rifles of Company D, which ended his earthly career.
"On being driven from Fort Defiance, the enemy retreated to the north point of the Island, stacked their arms, and waited the approach of our troops, when an unconditional surrender was made. The trophies are4 five forts, thirty-three pieces of artillery, two thousand eight hundred prisoners, with small arms, stores, etc. Fort Defiance was unquestionably the key to the rebel's position, and the occupation of the swamp on it's right flank (by the Ninth New Jersey) secured the great success of the day. After the battle, the Confederates admitted that they believed it impossible for 'troops to operate in that swamp.' The loss of the Ninth is nine killed and twenty-five wounded, a full list of which will be sent to you at an early date. Captain Joseph J. Henry, of Company H, who was killed by a round shot, was an accomplished, genial gentleman, and a gallant officer of great promise. He fell as he would have chosen to fall, at the head of his division. Isaac V. D. Blackwell, of Company F, a Christian gentleman, and brave soldier, expired in his brother's arms. His last words were, 'Remember thy God.'
"Among the wounded the brave corporal, John Lorence, and Jonathan A. Bural, of Company K, deserve special mention. They have performed their whole duty to their country, and their country should never forget their sacrifice for the preservation of the Union .
"The gallant behavior of the officers and men of the regiment, in its first engagement, prevents my making mention of individual bravery. But I cannot refrain from expressing my admiration for our gallant young adjutant, Abram Zabriskie, who during the whole of the battle manifested the self-possession of a veteran. That the future of the Ninth will be replete with brilliant deeds, I fully believe; and that the honor of the country and our flag will not be tarnished by any act of hers. From first to last its conduct was, in the highest, courageous.
"The value of the Union, in this conquest, will readily appear in a glance at a map of Virginia and North Carolina. It is the key to the rear of all the defences of Norfolk and Portsmouth."
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