Peter Vredenburgh Jr. (September 12, 1837 – September 19, 1864) was a lawyer and
Union Army Major in the
American Civil War. He was born in
Freehold Township
Freehold Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional commercial hub for Central New Jersey (home to the Freehold Raceway and Freehold Raceway Mall) and a bedroom community of New ...
in
Monmouth County, New Jersey. His father was
Peter Vredenburgh, Associate Justice of the
New Jersey Supreme Court. He studied law in
Poughkeepsie, New York and was admitted to the New Jersey
Bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
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* Bar (u ...
in 1859 and moved to
Eatontown, New Jersey, where he practiced law.
When
President Lincoln called for volunteers to help preserve the Union Vredenburgh joined the
14th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Camp Vredenburgh, Freehold, New Jersey, and was commissioned
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
. The 14th New Jersey Infantry was attached to the
Army of the Potomac and served in the
Eastern Campaigns. Vredenburgh served in various staff appointments until after the
Battle of Monocacy when he requested and was granted permission to return to his regiment. He was killed September 19, 1864 at
Winchester, Virginia in the
Battle of Opequon.
His letters
[Olsen, Bernard A.: ''Upon The Tented Field'', Historic Projects Inc., 1993, Red Bank, N.J. Collected letters from several soldiers serving with the 14 New Jersey Volunteers.] to family and friends remain a significant source of documentation of the lives and struggles of Civil War soldiers and their opinions of the Army and the conduct of the war.
References
External links
Monmouth County Historical Association: Coll. 1 Peter Vredenburgh (1837-1864) Papers, 1856-1868*
1837 births
1864 deaths
Union Army officers
People of New Jersey in the American Civil War
American people of Dutch descent
People from Eatontown, New Jersey
People from Freehold Township, New Jersey
Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War
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