William Hexamer commanded an artillery battery in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Hexamer was born in

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

, Germany on April 12, 1825. During the

1848 Revolution The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

he served as an aide to Franz Sigel. Both of them had to go into exile when the revolution failed. By 1861, Hexamer, with the rank of major, was commander of a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

battery called the Hudson County Artillery.

Civil War Service

At the beginning of the war, Governor Charles Smith Olden and Hexamer offered his battery to the federal government. At first it was refused, but it was added to the volunteer service after a four-month delay, being mustered into service on August 12, 1861. Thereafter it was known as Battery A, 1st Battery New Jersey Light Artillery. The battery served at first with

First New Jersey Brigade The First New Jersey Brigade (also called the First Jersey Brigade and Kearny's New Jersey Brigade) is the common name for an American Civil War brigade of New Jersey infantry regiments in the Union Army of the Potomac. Its official designation thro ...

of Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny in the Peninsula Campaign, where it was part of

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army dur ...

in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

. Hexamer’s battery next saw action in the Antietam Campaign. It served with VI Corps at the Battle of Crampton’s Gap and the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

, assigned to the division of Maj. Gen.

Henry W. Slocum Henry Warner Slocum, Sr. (September 24, 1827 – April 14, 1894), was a Union general during the American Civil War and later served in the United States House of Representatives from New York. During the war, he was one of the youngest major ge ...

. The battery also served at the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

with the same division under Brig. Gen.

William T. H. Brooks William Thomas Harbaugh Brooks (January 28, 1821 – July 19, 1870) was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general during the American Civil War. Early life Brooks was born in New Lisbon (now Lisbon), Ohio ...

. Hexamer was ill and missed the Second Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Salem Church, both fought by VI Corps. The battery was commanded by Lt Augustine N. Parsons. Battery A covered the Union force’s crossing of the Rappahannock River on May 3, 1863. The guns accompanied the federal advance toward Salem Church and supported an attack on the brigade of Brig. Gen.

Cadmus Wilcox Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox (May 20, 1824 – December 2, 1890) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and also was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Early life and career Wilcox was b ...

near the church. When VI Corps was forced onto the defensive, Parsons’ guns supported the infantry line until their ammunition ran low. The battery also supported the federal retreat across the river on May 4. Parsons remained in command for the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, in which Battery A was assigned to the Reserve Artillery. The battery was sent to the front on July 3, 1863 to resist Pickett's Charge. Its guns supported the

Philadelphia Brigade The Philadelphia Brigade (also known as the California Brigade) was a Union Army brigade that served in the American Civil War. It was raised primarily in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the exception of the 106th regiment which cont ...

to their left front at the crisis of the attack. Hexamer returned to command in the fall of 1863. His battery served in the Reserve Artillery in the Bristoe Campaign and the Battle of Mine Run. In 1864, Hexamer’s battery continued in the Reserve Artillery in the Overland Campaign until the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

, when it was assigned to VI Corps. The battery supported the failed attacks of the Union army at Cold Harbor. The Battery remained with VI Corps in the early stages of the Siege of Petersburg. Hexamer was mustered out of the service on August 18, 1864. Parsons succeeded him in command.

Post war

Hexamer died of a throat infection at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey on August 25, 1870. He was buried at

Grove Church Cemetery The Grove Church Cemetery is a nonsectarian cemetery,Brooklyn Fairchild Sons, p. 63. located on the western slope of the Hudson Palisades, along with several other cemeteries in a string of green open space, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United ...

North Bergen, New Jersey North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by a ...

References

* Jackson, William J., ''New Jerseyans in the Civil War: For Union and Liberty'', Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000. * Parsons, Philip W., ''The Union Sixth Corps in the Chancellorsville Campaign'', Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006. * Toombs, Samuel, ''New Jersey Troops in the Gettysburg Campaign, from June 5 to July 31, 1863'', Highstown, NJ: Longstreet House, 1988.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hexamer, William 1825 births People of New Jersey in the American Civil War Union Army officers German emigrants to the United States German-American Forty-Eighters 1870 deaths People from Hoboken, New Jersey