The New Jersey State Museum is a fairly large modern museum located at 195-205 West State Street in Trenton, the state capital. It is just a few doors down from the state capitol and it is on the banks of the Delaware River. It is about a forty-five minutes drive from Philadelphia and ninety minutes from New York City. It is free to enter the museum. I found parking on the street for a small parking meter fee.
The museum is not devoted to the Civil War, but it does have two exhibits that would be of interest to students of that conflict. If you are in the area, you may want to visit the site. The Civil War exhibits take about a half-and-hour to see. To find out the hours and upcoming events, you should visit the museum website.
I went to the museum during the winter. Go in through the front door on West State Street and a welcome center is right inside the entrance. You can ask questions about what to see, other than the Civil War-related exhibits. The museum is not only devoted to the history of the state, it also contains exhibits on natural history and the scinces, and a small art gallery.
On the first floor to the right of the welcome center one of the most visited places in the museum is an exhibition on Civil War regiments from New Jersey. The exhibit has good signage interpreting the items on display. My only problem with it was that the glass protecting the panels and the exhibits reflected a lot of the too-bright overhead lamps. At times I had to reposition myself to be able to see everything.
The centerpiece of the exhibit are flags from New Jersey’s regiments in the Union Army between 1861 and 1865.
Their is a panel explaining the men who carried the flags.
There is a a panel that was a particular focus of the room. It displayed the flag of the 23rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Quaker Regiment or the Yahoo Regiment. Burlington County, where the regiment was raised, had a very large concentration of Quakers. People from the Society of Friends were opposed to war, but many of them had been involved in Abolitionist societies before the war broke out. Congregations split over joining the army.
The 23rd was mustered into service in August of 1862 in response to Union defeats in the East. It became a part of the First New Jersey Brigade. Unfortunately, the colonel, John Cox, had to resign in November of 1862 to avoid a court marshal for having been drunk, Their new commander, Col. Henry Ryerson, reviewed them and called them “Yahoos” for their lack of soldierly discipline. The men, being from New Jersey, adopted this as their nickname and emblazoned their flag with the word “YAHOOS” on it! You can see the flag in the case below.
Here is a close-up view of the YAHOOS flag. The regiment erected a monument at the site of the Battle of Salem Church. That battle was fought during Chancellorsville Campaign in 1863. This was a nine-month regiment and it was mustered out in June of 1863, although many of its men transferred to three year regiments.
There are also relics from the soldiers and officers of the war.
Here is the flag of the 33rd New Jersey Infantry Regiment. This regiment was organized in Newark in September of 1863. In November, it was moved to Chattanooga in Tennessee where it fought in the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s March to the Sea, and the pursuit of Johnson’s army into South Carolina and North Carolina.
The next flag is from the 3rd New Jersey which was trained by Phil Kearney. This was one the earliest New Jersey regiments having been recruited in May of 1861, just a few weeks after Fort Sumter was fired upon by Confederate Forces. It was assigned to the VI Corps and it served with distinction right up until the Confederate surrender.
Next is the Guidon of the 1st New Jersey Cavalry. It was organized in August 1861 in Trenton. Twelve of its soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor.
In the same room are other relics.
There is also a small display of where New Jersey regiments fought and which regiments fought at each battlefield.
Next is the flag of the 4th Hunterdon County Militia, known as “The Hunterdon Blues.” Hunterdon is now a suburb of New York City.
There is also an exhibit on the killing of Elmer Ellsworth in Virginia.
It includes several pitchers depicting the murder by a Confederate sympathizer.
There are also busts of Lincoln and Grant displayed at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
On display is a Civil War checkers set.
As well as a toy cannon.
A board game for refighting the Civil War.
On the third floor you can visit Stories of New Jersey History.
A woodworker carved this six foot four inch statue of Abraham Lincoln in 1880.
Although the artisan is unknown, it is one of the most photographed objects in the museum.
Lincoln visited nearby when he came through Trenton in 1861 on his way to his inauguration.
There are also some toys from the 19th Century and early 20th.
There is also a chair for the president made from donated wood.
Apart from the Civil War, New Jersey was the scene of two airship disasters that ended people flying in Zeppelins.
When Daniel Chester French was sculpting the statue for the Lincoln Memorial there was a great public attention to the work. Several diminutive reproductions were cast under French’s direction. This is one of three that were cast in 1921.
South of the museum is the New Jersey State House. It was built in 1782 and it was the center of New Jersey government during the Civil War. Commander of the Union Army of the Potomac George McClellan occupied the governors office from 1878 until 1881. McClellan is buried nearby.
