Advocacy For The Forgotten

Franklinville NJ Civil War Cemetery

Welcome to ​the resting place of the 
Buffalo Soldiers – 22nd Regiment 

United States Colored Troop​s

Visit Our Donation Page...

A small donation is all that is needed for the fondation to continue to service the cemetery and keep the memory of these forgotten men.

learn more

Visit The Resting Place...

The Civil War cemetary is a solomn place where our now not forgotten Black American Veterans have thier final resting place.

MAP

Roll Call...

Grave Markers and thier story...

Roll Call

The History

The 22nd United States Colored Infantry (USCT) was organized in January 1864. With 681 Jerseymen on its rolls, it was the most “Jersey” of all USCT regiments. The Regiment left Philadelphia for Virginia at the end of January and served at Yorktown through April of 1864, where it was assigned to garrison duty and served on several reconnaissance missions.

  The 22nd spent the Spring and early Summer constructing fortifications at Wilson’s Wharf and providing security along the James River. During this time, they often skirmished and repulsed Confederate cavalry probes. On June 15, 1864, the 22nd attached to the White XVIII Army Corp and attacked Petersburg, Virginia. The 22nd overran a Confederate trench line under a hail of bullets, and at sunset, attacked a well- armed Confederate fort splashing through a swamp, winning the fort.

For the next several months, the 22nd endured the dreary danger of siege warfare, ducking sniper bullets while sloshing through muddy trenches. When General Grant ordered an attack on Richmond, the 22nd moved onto New Market Heights where they attacked Confederate defenses on September 29, 1864. Under the command of Major J.B. Cook, the 22nd wheeled into battle sweeping the Rebel lines before them. From here the men were moved onto the grounds of the old Fair Oaks battlefield. Through command confusion, the Regiment became separated but managed to overrun a Confederate artillery position before they  were pushed back by a Rebel counterattack.

In December 1864, the Regiment was assigned to the newly formed XXV Corp, the only all Black army corps in United States history. December to April of 1865, the 22nd remained in the trenches before Richmond dodging bullets and shells, and battling lice and rats along with Confederate troops.

With the Spring came the final Union push on the Richmond - Petersburg line. As the Confederates fled Richmond, elements of the XXV Corps marched into the Confederate capital, with the 22nd regiment  among the first foot soldiers to enter the city.

After General Lee’s surrender, the 22nd marched to Washington and participated in President Lincoln’s funeral procession followed by their deployment on the Maryland side of the Potomac as the army hunted John Wilkes Booth. With Booth’s capture and death, the 22nd still had one more job to complete. The French had installed Emperor Maximillian in Mexico in violation of the Monroe Doctrine. The XXV Corps, including the 22nd, was sent to Texas to intimidate the French while pacifying the former Confederate state. They patrolled the Rio Grande border until their recall to Philadelphia in October 1865 where they were mustered out of service.  

The Highlights

The accomplishments of USCT Regiments Trained at Camp William Penn.

The 3rd USCT was the first regiment trained at Camp William Penn in the summer of1863, when Confederate and Uniom forces clashed not too far away at Gettysburgh, Pa.

The 3rd, whose members were not allowed to parade through Philadelphia upon departing camp for fear of racial animosity spurred by the spectacle of blacks in uniform carrying weapons, would go on to participate in the siege of fort wadner on Morris Island, South Carolina.

The great abolitionist and Union recruiter, Frederick Douglas, likely on july 24, 1863, spoke to the 3rd USCT about their importance in the Civil War as some of America's first black federal soldiers... 

Frederick Douglas Wrote:

 "the fortunes of the whole race for generations to come are bound up in the success or failure of the 3rd Regiment of colored troops from the North.

You are a spectacle for men and angels. You are in a manner to answer the question: can the black man be a soldier?  That we can now make soldiers of these men, there can be no doubt ! "

Douglass' powerful words resonated with many of the soldiers who, like him, where ex-slaves.

Roll Call

James M Williams

North Carolina
Private U.S. Army
Died
 Jan 19,1938

Andrew Jackson

Private 22nd Regiment
US Colored Troups
Joined Jan 5th, 1864 Phila. Pa
 Mustard out of service 
Fort Monroe, Va 
June 18, 1865

John W Hicks

Sargent 22nd Regiment
US Colored Volunteers
Died
May 10th 1905

William Tribbitt

Died Aug 19th, 1915
Aged 79 Years
Private Company J 22nd Regiment 
US Colored Volunteers

Posted Jun 03, 2019

N.J. Civil War cemetery was forgotten until a woman stepped in 

New Jersey students help clean up cemetery where Civil War soldiers are buried

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, N.J. (WPVI) -- Scores of volunteers armed with a tractor, saws, rakes and other tools converged on a small parcel of land just off Tuckahoe Road in Franklinville in Gloucester County.

Their mission: a one a day blitz operation to clear out heavy brush that surrounded and obscured a once forgotten cemetery.
The space is the final resting place for a number of African American military veterans, including one who served in World War I, another in World War II, and at least three who fought in the American Civil War.

For years Lisa Money and her daughter Faith had been volunteer caretakers. They had learned of the cemetery from a neighbor. For years, a mother and daughter had worked to make the space presentable, clear weeds, keep the grass cut and battle poison ivy.


Today the pair got major help from dozens of students and staff from the Gloucester County Institute of Technology. It was part of an outreach effort by the school's chapter of SkillsUSA, a student organization that as part of its mission, encourages its members to use their skills to help others in their community.

The three Civil War veterans buried were members of United States Colored Troops 22d Regiment--African American soldiers who fought in Virginia, and later were part of Lincoln's funeral procession.

The volunteers who helped clean up the cemetery include workers from the local Lowe's home improvement store. The store donated paint and new plantings around the border of the once neglected cemetery.
Lisa Money says it does not appear the cemetery was ever given a name. She is planning on having a formal naming ceremony on the morning of June 1.

The name will be "The Buffalo Soldiers, United States Colored Troops, 22nd Regiment Cemetery." It is located in Franklinville at the intersection of Tuckahoe Rd and Sheridan Ave.
Copyright © 2021 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved

Buffalo Soldiers Cemetary

3501 Tuckahoe Road Franklinville, Gloucester County, New Jersey, 08322 USA