
By 1863 there were 30,000 men from New Jersey in the Union Army. Not all troops were enthusiastic about the war. In New Jersey in the presidential election of 1864, Lincoln lost in New Jersey "...to the man he had fired as commanding general, George McClellan" (Hodges, 122).
On the battlefield, many New Jersey troops fought well (Hodges, 123). The 33rd Regiment from Essex and Hudson counties marched with Sherman to the sea. Judson Kilpatrick was noted for his reckless but successful calvary charges. .