Civil War Veterans - Part 2 of Interesting Places in Hainesport

     By the end of the Civil War, 179,000 Afro-Americans served in the Union Army and 19,000 served in the Navy.  http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/  In May 1863, the War Department established the Bureau of Colored Troops.  Depending on the source you consult (figures vary), between 1,200 and 3,000 New Jersey black men joined the Union Army or Navy. Twenty-three of these men are buried in the Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Cemetery in Hainesport.
     These men mustered into the service in 1863.  They signed on for three years.  Since the war ended before the end of their three year term, they returned home in 1865.  New Jersey did not have its own regiment, so the soldiers were assigned to other state's regiments.  While enlisted, they earned $10.00 per month with a $3.00 per month clothing allowance deducted from their pay. White soldiers were paid $13.00 per month, and they did not pay a clothing allowance.  In 1864 Congress addressed this inequity and gave equal pay to all soldiers.  The ruling was retroactive, so the black soldiers received their back pay.  Toward the end of the war, recruiters gave signing bonuses called bounties to encourage black enlistment.  The Civil War brought a huge overhaul in the military pension system.  Many of the Mt. Moriah soldiers who lived past middle age received pensions, or pensions payments were made to their widows or children.  http://www.civilwarhome.com/pensions.htm

George W. Still's paperwork shows he received a $100 bounty, or bonus, for signing up in 1864.  Adjusted for inflation, that would be  $1,492.54 in 2013 dollars.

John W. Macklin began receiving a pension at age 44.  Changes in pension rules eventually allowed Civil War veterans to collect for having served.  

Warner Pritchet started collecting a pension at age 30.  His wife started receiving benefits in 1914 when Mr. Pritchet died. 

View from inside the main cemetery looking toward Marne Highway.

View from inside the main cemetery looking toward the Mount Holly By-Pass (behind the trees).

Grave of George W. Still.  

     Here is a list of the Civil War veterans resting at Mt. Moriah:
   
     Charles S. Bowles - Co. B, United States Colored Troops (USCT).  Born 1835.  Died 6/10/1872.  The 1870 United States Census reports he was a railroad worker after the war.
     Joseph Brannan - Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), Co. B, 32nd US Colored Infantry.  Born, 1845.  Died 8/30/1914.
     David P. Brown - Born 1847.  Died 1923.
     Edward B. Chapman - Co. G, 22nd Regt. USCT.  Born 1834.  Died 8/2/1882.  Worked as a waiter after the war.
     Isaiah Dillon (Mixed Race) - Co. A, 6th US Colored Infantry.  Born 1850.  Died 12/12/1919.  Worked as a coachman after the war.
     Isaac Gaines - Military unit not verified.  Born about 1839.  Can't locate headstone.  The cemetery reference book at the library indicates there is no stone for Isaac Gaines.  His stone could be one of the illegible stones in the By-Pass plot.  According to the 1880 Census, Mr. Gaines worked as a carpenter.
     Morris Gaines - GAR, Co. I, 1st Colored Infantry.  Born about 1846.  Died 3/22/1919.  Worked as a laborer after the war.
     John Edward Harmon - Co. K, 29th Regt. Connecticut Infantry.  Born 1836.  Died 7/8/1930.
     Charles Shedrick Holland - GAR Marker.  Born 3/25/1842.  Died 6/11/1915.
     Samuel Howard - GAR, Co. A, 6th US Colored Infantry.
     Abram Johnson - GAR, Co. A, 25 Regiment.  Died 1/21/1910.
     John W. Macklin - Massachusetts Cavalry.  Born 1846.  Date of Death Unknown.  Worked as a waiter after the war.
     Jacob Owens - Co. B, 43rd US Colored Infantry.  Born about 1845.  Date of Death Unknown.  Worker as a cook after the war.
     William Henry Owens - Co. F, 127th Regt. USCT.  Born about 1840.  Died 4/13/1811.  Worked as a waiter after the war.
     Warner Pritchet - GAR, Co. I, 143rd Regt. USCT.  Born 1842.  Died 6/13/1914.
     Robert H. Smith - Co. E, 32 Regt. Colored Infantry.  Date of Birth Unknown.  Died 6/5/1901.
     Benjamin Spencer - 25th Regt. US Infantry.  Born about 1843.  Died 2/17/1929.  Worked as a laborer.
     Clayton Still - Co. A, 41st Pennsylvania Colored troops.  Born 1841.  Died 10/23/1907.  Farm Laborer.
     George W. Still - GAR, C0. E, 26th US Colored Infantry.  Born 1845.  Date of Death Unknown.
     Thomas Summers - Born 2/7/1846.  Died 4/19/1909.
     Moses Willows - GAR Marker.  Born 1830.  Died 5/29/1913.  Moses Willows would have been 33 years old, the oldest to enlist.
     John Wilson - GAR, Co. K, 8th US Colored Infantry.  Birth Date Unknown.  Date of Death Unknown.