Edward Jardine (November 2, 1828 – July 16, 1893) was an American

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

officer during 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 ...

serving with the

9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 9th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was also known as the "''Hawkins' Zouaves''" or the "''New York Zouaves''." Military service, 1861 In April 1861 with the ...

under General

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is ...

and later 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 Confede ...

under General

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...

in Virginia and North Carolina campaigns. He was one of the senior military officers during the

New York Draft Riots The New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of white working-cl ...

and narrowly escaped lynching at the hands of a mob. The injuries he sustained during the riots ended his military career.

Biography

Early life and military service

Edward Jardine was born in Brooklyn to Charles Jardine, an Englishman of French descent, shortly after his parents arrived in the United States. He came from a poor background and, as a teenager, he worked at a hardware store and attended

night school A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The Scuola ...

. At age 18, Jardine married Ophelia Kreemer with whom he had two sons, Augustus E. and James R. D. Jardine. Jardine eventually became a successful hardware importer and served in the State National Guard prior to the start of the

. Enlisting in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

in May 1861, he received a commission as an officer with the

, popularly known as ''Hawkins' Zouaves'', and later the IX Army Corps where he served under General

at the

Battle of Big Bethel The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861. Virginia's decision to secede from the Union had been ratified by popular vot ...

and Hatteras Inlet expedition. In 1862, he accompanied the

in General

's Roanoke expedition and took part in the Battles of Hatteras Inlet, Roanoke Island, South Mountain,

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 ...

and Fredericksburg. Twice wounded during the campaign, Jardine was promoted to the rank of major for "gallant conduct" and briefly commanded the 89th New York Infantry Regiment."Gen. Edward Jardine Dead; End of a Notable Career as a Soldier and Businessman". New York Times. 17 Jul 1893Swinton, William. ''History of the Seventh Regiment, National Guard, State of New York, During the War of the Rebellion''. New York: Fields, Osgood and Co., 1870. (pg. 401)

New York Draft Riots

After his unit had been disbanded in early 1863, the two-year enlistment terms having expired, he and other former Union officers were in New York to recruit new members. At the time the

broke out, Jardine held no formal command. He did, however, call upon former members of ''Hawkins' Zouaves'' as well as other regiments to help local officials to defend against the rioters. Only 200 or so men responded his plea, but Jardine took command of the small force and prepared to face the rioters. A veteran artillery officer, he also gave artillery support to several regiments. On July 15, Jardine and his men engaged the rioters at First Avenue and Nineteenth Street supporting Major Robinson and the Duryea's Zouaves with artillery fire from two

howitzers A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like oth ...

. While the infantrymen engaged the rioters, Jardine ordered the guns to sweep the avenue but the mob scattered from the street by the time he gave the order to fire. Within a few minutes, they began taking fire from both sides of the street. Both artillery and sharpshooters returned fire, neither being effective. Asbury, Herbert. ''The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 150-151); Despite being vastly outnumbered, he and his men attempted to disperse the mob but were instead pushed back leaving many soldiers dead and wounded on the streets before being forced to retreat. It was during this battle that Jardine was struck in the thigh by a piece of lead pipe fired from a cannon, which caused a

compound fracture A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

, an injury from which he never fully recovered. He was rescued by local residents, two young women, who hid him and two others in the basement of their Second Avenue home. By the time the mob began searching homes and buildings for wounded soldiers, the two Duryea officers having escaped hours before, Jardine was able to escape notice by wearing civilian clothes.Beath, Robert Burns. ''History of the Grand Army of the Republic''. Bryan, Taylor, & Co. Publishers, 1889. (pg. 153-54) A second version claims that, upon the mob breaking into the house, the two officers were clubbed to death and that only the intervention of one of the rioters, a veteran of Hawkins' Zouaves, had recognized him that he persuaded the others to spare him. Jardine was taken to the home of a nearby surgeon where he remained for the rest of the riots.

Retirement and later years

As a result of the draft riots, recruiting for the re-organizing veteran regiments in New York City dwindled rapidly; and in October 1863 the Governor of New York issued an order calling for the consolidation of those regiments then organizing in New York City. On October 14, 1863, the 9th, 11th, 17th & 38th New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiments were consolidated together to create the

17th New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 17th New York Veteran Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the United States Army during the American Civil War. It was often referred to as the ''17th New York Veteran Zouaves'' and has been erroneously reported as using ...

. The 17th Veterans had the largest number of recruited members, with the 9th Veterans having the second most, as such William T.C. Grower, of the 17th, was appointed Colonel, and Edward Jardine as Lieutenant Colonel of the new regiment, which was mustered into United States service on October 14, 1863. Still recovering from his injuries sustained in the draft riots he served with the regiment as much as able, however, on May 10, 1864, he resigned his commission with the regiment to accept an appointment in the Veteran Reserve Corps. His appointment as Captain of the 4th Company of the 2nd Battalion, Veteran Reserve Corps, dated from May 3, 1864, and he served with them for the remainder of the war. On November 2, 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of Brigadier General of United States Volunteers for "“gallant and meritorious services during the War of the Rebellion.” His military service came to its end on April 12, 1866, when he resigned his commission and returned home to New Jersey. He was briefly involved in business interests on Wall Street with W.T. Pelton, nephew of noted political reformer Samuel J. Tilden, but left New York for

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

where he settled in Fort Lee along the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. From 1867 to 1869, he was editor and publisher for the ''Daily Times'' in Jersey City. He was also active in local politics and ran for public office several times before becoming a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

for the

New Jersey state legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

in 1869. Involved in the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

, Jardine was elected provincial commander of its New Jersey chapter and, years later, became the commander of its New York chapter as well as its senior vice commander in chief. During the next year, Jardine was personally appointed as a weigher to the New York U.S. Custom House by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. He remained in this position for almost twenty years until poor health, due to his old injuries, forced him to retire. After several years as a widower, he married Katherine Clark in 1885. His health continued to decline and was bedridden for much of 1887.

Death

In March 1888, Jardine suffered an attack which caused him to be confined in the Hotel Pomeroy until his death in 1893. Funeral services were held at the Scottish Rite Hall at Madison Avenue and Twenty-Ninth Street the following afternoon. Reverend Clark Wright delivered the eulogy and members of the Chancellor Walworth Lodge of Masons, the George Washington Post of the Grand Army and Loyal Legion of Honor were in attendance.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jardine, Edward E. 1828 births 1893 deaths Union Army colonels People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Military personnel from Brooklyn Grand Army of the Republic officials