Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A New Jersey Civil War Veteran medal awarded to Private Job H. Findon, 25th New Jersey Infantry Regiment, a 9-months regiment, that was conspicuous for the part it played during the battle of Fredericksburg

State of New Jersey Civil War Veteran Medal, the reverse officially numbered 3667, nearly extremely fine £300-£400

Job H. Findon mustered into service with as a private in Company ‘C’, 25th New Jersey Infantry Regiment on 18 September 1862. He was mustered out of service on 20 June 1863 at Beverly, New Jersey, on completion of the regiment’s enlistment. He is confirmed on the roll as receiving the medal numbered 3667.

The 25th New Jersey Infantry Regiment
‘Among the 9-months regiments sent to the field from New Jersey, few performed more signal service or made a finer record than the 25th. The regiment left its camp at Beverly on October 10, 1862 and arrived at Washington on the following day. Going into camp at Capitol Hill, it was assigned to the 2nd brigade of Casey's division, consisting of the 27th N. J., 12th and 13th Vt. and 12th Mass. battery, Col. Derrom being placed in temporary command of the brigade. Acquia Creek was reached on December 8, the regiment crossing the Potomac in transports from Liverpool Point, and on the following day proceeding directly to Falmouth, where it was assigned to the 1st brigade, 3d division, 9th army corps. It took a conspicuous part in the Battle of Fredericksburg and met with a loss in the conflict of 9 killed, 58 wounded and 18 missing. It also participated in an engagement near Suffolk in May, 1863, in which the behaviour of the men was most admirable. That was the last fight in which the 25th was engaged. On June 4 it was ordered to proceed to Portsmouth and take transportation for New Jersey, and four days later reached Camp Cadwallader at Beverly, where on June 20 it was mustered out of the service.’

The State of New Jersey Civil War Veteran Medal
In 1904, the State of New Jersey authorised the issue of the New Jersey Civil War Veteran Medal to honour its Civil War veterans, both army and naval. This medal took the form of a 37mm bronze disc, suspended from a bar by two chains. The medal itself was unnamed but the reverse of the bar was individually impressed with a number which can be traced to each veteran it was issued to. Approximately 88,000 men from this State fought for the Union but just 5,292 of these medals were issued to veterans.

An earlier medal had been issued in 1901 known as the ‘First Defenders' Medal. This award was given to honourably discharged officers and men from four regiments of the New Jersey brigade-militia who mustered at Trenton on 1 May 1861 to serve for three months. These medals had the recipient’s name officially engraved to the obverse field. It is estimated that just 843 of these medals were issued.

Of the States that fought for the Union, only West Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut issued officially named or numbered medals to its servicemen in significant numbers. Even then, bar to soldiers in West Virginian service, this was to a small number of men that actually served in each State during the War and a fraction of the over two million servicemen who fought for the Union. Connecticut, Pennsylvania and others issued medals to their ‘first call’ militia but numbers were lower than 800.