New Jersey Civil War 150

I haven't written much recently about the work of the New Jersey Civil War 150th Anniversary Committee, but the group continues to be very active. Having gotten the organizational issues done as well as adopting vision and mission statements, we are on to working on specific projects.

The first thing that will become public is our website, www.njcivil150.com which should go live before the end of the month. At the beginning it will consist of a front page and links to other Civil War sites. Then we will gradually start posting short biographies of 150 prominent New Jerseyans from the Civil War era. We plan to continue to work on lists of 150 - 150 locations, 150 events etc.

Our committee is now working on writing these biographies and I thought of writing one on Charles Deshler who was mentioned in "The Mutinous Regiment." The current draft of the biography is listed below, but it can hardly do justice to the breath of Deshler's life. A drug store owner in New Brunswick, active in national politics, editor of two New Jersey newspapers, literary critic, business and civic leader. Yet in addition to all these achievements, he stands out in the Civil War for his two month mission of mercy to visit wounded and sick New Jersey soldiers in what was then called the west. Deshler was active in the Know Nothing movement which opposed immigration and Catholicism, yet many of the soldiers he visited had to have been Catholic immigrants.

My guess is that Deshler's name is little known today, even in New Brunswick where he was a community leader in many different areas. Part of my hope for the work of our committee is that we can help to honor New Jersey's men and women from the Civil War era so that their stories will be remembered. It is a great honor and a great responsibility for me to serve as the chair of this committee.

"Charles D. Deshler was born in Easton, Pennsylvania on March 1, 1819, but moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey as a child. He was apprenticed into the drug store business as a teenager, ultimately becoming the store owner. Originally a Whig, he became very active in the Know Nothing party before becoming a Democrat. Switching careers, Deshler became the editor of the American Standard, leaving that paper for an editorial position with the Newark Daily Advertiser.

Although not a big supporter of the war, Deshler provided invaluable service to New Jersey soldiers and their families in the summer of 1864. During the Atlanta campaign, a large number of men from New Jersey regiments were in western hospitals suffering from wounds and disease. The distance from the state made it extremely difficult for officials and families to communicate with the men, much less attend to their care. Appointed as state military agent, Deshler spent at least two months visiting some 275 men in Tennessee and Kentucky. In addition to arranging furloughs, pay, clothing and other necessities, he provided New Jersey newspapers with soldier’s addresses down to the specific tent so their families could contact them.

After the war, Deshler returned to New Brunswick, where he was active in civic, business, and educational affairs. He also did literary work for Harpers and wrote two books about poetry. Deshler’s long life ended in New Brunswick on May 10, 1909 at the age of 90."