The Third New Jersey Cavalry was a most unusual unit, at least in appearance. The regiment
began recruiting towards the end of 1863, and Colonel Andrew Jackson Morrison, hoping to
by Joe Bilby
attract recent European immigrants, designed a uniform reminiscent of European “Hussar” cavalry, with yards of gold braid and orange piping and an odd hat choice, which appears to be a standard kepi with the bill removed and worn sideways. Enlistees were issued hooded talmas instead of overcoats. Recruits were asked to contribute three dollars of their own money to cover the cost of the unique uniforms. Since they were receiving high bounties to enlist, this was not a serious impediment. Morrison’s pitch seemed at least somewhat effective, since one lieutenant later complained that while he spoke English, the men in his company only spoke German.
There was another more problematic aspect of the Third’s leadership. Colonel Morrison had more prewar military experience, albeit erratic, than most Civil War officers. He ran away to become an officer’s servant in the Mexican War, was hauled off a ship of filibusterers headed for Latin America, met Italian Revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi in New York, and served under him as a cavalry officer in Italy, among other things. There was, however, one unfortunate incident. He had been relieved of command of the 26th New Jersey Infantry when he led it in the wrong direction while inebriated during the 1863 Chancellorsville Campaign. Although he explained to the governor of New Jersey that he failed at leading the infantry regiment because his experience as a mercenary in Europe was with cavalry, his recommissioning was no doubt due to political connections
Colonel Morrison also requested that the regiment be equipped only with sabers, no doubt dreaming of leading the American equivalent of the charge of the Light Brigade against Confederates. In addition to the sabers, the Third was initially issued some Whitney revolvers as well. By the second quarter of 1864, the Third was carrying a hodgepodge of firearms, including revolvers by Whitney and Remington, a few Sharps carbines, and even a few obsolete .69 caliber musketoons. The issue pattern, revealed in the quarterly ordnance report, seems sketchy.
The bulk of the 3rd New Jersey Cavalry was mustered into service on Feb. 10, 1864, in Trenton. The Third was initially assigned as support for General Ambrose Burnside’s IX Army Corps but later transferred to General Phil Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps. Colonel Morrison was relieved again due to drunkenness, but his regiment, dubbed the “Butterflies” due to their unconventional uniforms, fought numerous skirmishes during the 1864 advance on Richmond and then, as part of Sheridan’s Cavalry, engaged in some heavy fighting up and down the Shenandoah valley to the end of 1864.
Sheridan was more aware than Morrison of the weaponry needed for Civil War cavalry tactics in which the mounted arm played a part in various tactical scenes including providing a skirmish line in front of advancing infantry, as on the first day at Gettysburg. This tactical variation demanded a large number of carbines. The Third had more revolvers and a hodgepodge of carbines, including Joslyn, Sharps, and Burnside models. In the third quarter of 1864, Company A reported fourteen Spencer and six Sharps carbines, as well as an assortment of revolvers. Some companies did not report at all.
The regiment moved to Petersburg, where it joined General Grant’s army and participated in the war’s final campaign. Following the end of the conflict, the regiment was issued Spencer carbines for each soldier. The Third New Jersey Cavalry overcame some significant handicaps in its development into an effective unit, especially in the matter of sufficient firearms. In spite of being commanded by a romantic alcoholic and clothed in uniforms more suited for a circus than a modern war, the Third became a hard-hitting combat outfit, even with its sorry weapons issues. It was mustered out of service in July and August of 1865, and maintained a viable veterans organization into the twentieth century.