Edward Jardine
Encyclopedia
Brigadier General Edward E. Jardine (November 2, 1828 – July 16, 1893) was an American U.S. Army
officer during the American Civil War
serving with the 9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
under General Benjamin Butler
and later the Army of the Potomac
under General Ambrose Burnside
in Virginia and North Carolina campaigns.
He was also one of the senior military officers during the New York Draft Riots
and, although narrowly escaping lynching at the hands of a mob, the injuries he sustained during the riots ended his military career and the effects from which would last throughout his life.
and attended night school
. At age 18, Jardine married Ophelia Kreemer with whom he would have 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 American Civil War
.
Enlisting in the Union Army
in May 1861, he received a commission as an officer with the 9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
, popularly known as Hawkins' Zouaves, and later the IX Army Corps
where he served under General Benjamin Butler
at the Battle of Big Bethel
and Hatteras Inlet expedition
. In 1862, he accompanied the Army of the Potomac
in General Ambrose Burnside
's Roanoke expedition and took part in the Battles of Hatteras Inlet, Roanoke Island
, South Mountain
, Antietam
and Fredericksburg
. Twice wounded during the campaign, Jardine was promoted to the rank of major for "gallant conduct" and briefly commanded the 89th Infantry Regiment.
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. 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. 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, an injury from which he would never fully recover.
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. 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.
. He was awarded the rank of brevet Brigadier General upon his retirement and honorably discharged in May 1865.
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
where he settled in Fort Lee
along the Hudson River
. From 1867 until 1869, Jardine 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 for the New Jersey state legislature in 1869. Involved in the Grand Army of the Republic
, 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
. He would remain 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 as complications from his wounds becoming steadily worse in his old age and was bedridden for much of 1887. In March 1888, Jardine suffered an attack which caused him to be confined in the Hotel Pomeroy until his death.
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.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
serving with the 9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 9th New York Volunteer 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 "New York Zouaves."-Military Service, 1861:...
under General Benjamin Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....
and later the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
under General Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
in Virginia and North Carolina campaigns.
He was also one of the senior military officers during the New York Draft Riots
New York Draft Riots
The New York City draft riots were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots were the largest civil insurrection in American history apart from the Civil War itself...
and, although narrowly escaping lynching at the hands of a mob, the injuries he sustained during the riots ended his military career and the effects from which would last throughout his life.
Early life and military service
Edward Jardine was born in Brooklyn to Charles Jardine, an Englishman of French decent, shortly after his parents arrived in the United States. He came from a poor background and, as a teenager, he worked at a hardware storeHardware store
Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware including: fasteners, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for...
and attended night school
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
. At age 18, Jardine married Ophelia Kreemer with whom he would have 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 American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Enlisting in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
in May 1861, he received a commission as an officer with the 9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 9th New York Volunteer 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 "New York Zouaves."-Military Service, 1861:...
, popularly known as Hawkins' Zouaves, and later the IX Army Corps
IX Corps (ACW)
IX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War that distinguished itself in combat in multiple theaters: the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.-Formation, Second Bull Run, and Antietam:...
where he served under General Benjamin Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....
at the Battle of Big Bethel
Battle of Big Bethel
The Battle of Big Bethel, also known as the Battle of Bethel Church or Great Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War after the surrender of Fort Sumter...
and Hatteras Inlet expedition
Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries
The Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, sometimes known as the Battle of Forts Hatteras and Clark, was a small but significant engagement in the early days of the American Civil War. Two Confederate forts on the North Carolina Outer Banks were subjected to an amphibious assault by Union forces that...
. In 1862, he accompanied the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
in General Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
's Roanoke expedition and took part in the Battles of Hatteras Inlet, Roanoke Island
Battle of Roanoke Island
The opening phase of what came to be called the Burnside Expedition, the Battle of Roanoke Island was an amphibious operation of the American Civil War, fought on February 7–8, 1862, in the North Carolina Sounds a short distance south of the Virginia border...
, South Mountain
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen. George B...
, Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
and Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
. Twice wounded during the campaign, Jardine was promoted to the rank of major for "gallant conduct" and briefly commanded the 89th Infantry Regiment.
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 New York Draft RiotsNew York Draft Riots
The New York City draft riots were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots were the largest civil insurrection in American history apart from the Civil War itself...
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
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
and Nineteenth Street supporting Major Robinson and the Duryea's Zouaves with artillery fire from two howitzers. 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. 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, an injury from which he would never fully recover.
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. 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
Jardine was later given command of the 17th Infantry Regiment, newly formed from the original 7th and 9th Regiments, but was turned over his command due to his injury and was eventually transferred to the Veteran Reserve CorpsVeteran Reserve Corps
The Veteran Reserve Corps was a military reserve organization created within the Union Army during the American Civil War to allow partially disabled or otherwised infirmed soldiers to perform light duty, freeing able-bodied soldiers to serve on the front lines.-The Invalid Corps:The corps was...
. He was awarded the rank of brevet Brigadier General upon his retirement and honorably discharged in May 1865.
He was briefly involved in business interests on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
with W.T. Pelton, nephew of noted political reformer Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel Jones Tilden was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, one of the most controversial American elections of the 19th century. He was the 25th Governor of New York...
, but left New York for New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
where he settled in Fort Lee
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. From 1867 until 1869, Jardine 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 for the New Jersey state legislature in 1869. Involved in the Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
, 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
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House is a building in New York City, built 1902–1907 by the federal government to house the duty collection operations for the port of New York. It is located near the southern tip of Manhattan, next to Battery Park, at 1 Bowling Green...
by President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. He would remain 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 as complications from his wounds becoming steadily worse in his old age and was bedridden for much of 1887. In March 1888, Jardine suffered an attack which caused him to be confined in the Hotel Pomeroy until his death.
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
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
and Loyal Legion of Honor were in attendance.
Further reading
- Cook, Adrian. The Armies of the Streets: The New York City Draft Riots of 1863. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1974.