Happy Birthday, and Remember Marines!
As the nation prepares to observe and celebrate the 248th birthday of the founding of the United States Marine Corps on November 10, New Jersey can honor many Marines who attributed their entry into the military through the state of New Jersey.
But there are two noted Marines whose Medals of Honor were earned at the same battle in the Civil War, while serving on separate ships.
Among the 50 soldiers, sailors and four Marines receiving the Medal of Honor at Fort Fisher, North Carolina near the end of the Civil War were Corporal Andrew Tomlin and Private John Shivers.
They remain the first two Marines who enlisted in the Marine Corps from New Jersey to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, which was first presented during the Civil War.
The Battle of Fort Fisher was fought three weeks after the first Union attempt to take this strategic site in North Carolina ended in failure, its commanding officer relieved of duty because of the poorly executed plan.
The flotilla sailing to fight the second battle was delayed due to a powerful storm off Cape Hatteras. However, one week later, 8,000 men were in the landing force that went ashore and began two more days of intense bombardment. Four hundred Marines accompanied the 1,600 sailors who went ashore and served under the command of Captain Lucien L. Dawson.
While Marines participated in major land battles at numerous sites throughout the Civil War, their main contribution was aboard ships blockading squadrons and inland river flotillas.
The three-day battle launched Jan. 13, 1865, was a massive victory for the Union, weakening the Confederacy by cutting off their supplies. The battle was also the heaviest naval armed battle in history to that time and was the largest amphibious attack during the Civil War, combining both land and naval forces. It remained the largest amphibious attack in American history until the D-Day attack in World War II nearly a century later.
With nearly 10,000 Union soldiers and 58 naval ships involved, there were 54 Medals of Honor attributed for heroism during this single conflict. Six of those Medals of Honor were awarded to Marines. The victory at Fort Fisher enabled the Union to capture Wilmington, the final major Confederate port, limiting Confederate access to supplies. The Confederacy surrendered 90 days after losing at Wilmington, North Carolina.
Andrew J. Tomlin was a corporal in the Marine Corps serving on the USS Wabash during the Fort Fisher assault. On Jan. 15, 1865, he was one of 200 Marines gathered to hold a line of entrenchments in the rear of the fort. He refused to retreat in the face of the enemy attack and remained in his position throughout the night until relief troops arrived. Cpl. Tomlin advanced through active fire to assist a wounded soldier struck by enemy fire. Cpl. Tomlin was the only Marine of four military personnel aboard the Wabash who earned the Medal of Honor
Born in Goshen in Cape May County, Tomlin survived the battle and later advanced to the rank of sergeant before being relieved from the Corps and returning to civilian life. He died Nov. 1, 1905, and is buried at Goshen Methodist Cemetery in Goshen. His Medal of Honor is at the National Museum of the US Marine Corps at Quantico, Va,
CITATION
As corporal of the guard on board the U.S.S. Wabash during the assault on Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865. As one of 200 marines assembled to hold a line of entrenchments in the rear of the fort which the enemy threatened to attack in force following a retreat in panic by more than two-thirds of the assaulting ground forces, Cpl. Tomlin took position in line and remained until morning when relief troops arrived from the fort. When one of his comrades was struck down by enemy fire, he unhesitatingly advanced under a withering fire of musketry into an open plain close to the fort and assisted the wounded man to a place of safety.
Pvt. John Shivers
Born in Canada in 1830 and enlisting in the Marine Corps from somewhere in New Jersey, Pvt. Shivers was serving aboard the USS Minnesota during the Battle of Fort Fisher.
The Medal of Honor Museum does not have any record of where or when Pvt. Shiver completed his tour of duty with the Marine Corps or where he died. Nor is there a record of where his Medal of Honor, which he received before his death, is today.
The ship on which he served, the USS Minnesota, was a wooden steam frigate launched ten years earlier, decommissioned after tours in east Asia, and recommissioned to serve as the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War. She was later stricken, beached and burned to recover her metal fittings and to clear her name for the newly ordered battleship, the USS Minnesota (BB22)
Pvt. Shivers was among the 240 men from the Minnesota in the landing force, that covered, by a barrage from their own ship, participated in the successful assault that closed Wilmington. Pvt. Shivers was one of three Marines who earned the Medal as part of the landing party which assaulted the fort.
CITATION
On board the U.S.S. Minnesota, in the assault on Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865. Landing on the beach with the assaulting party from his ship, Pvt. Shivers advanced to the top of the sandhill and partly through the breach in the palisades despite enemy fire which killed or wounded many officers and men. When more than two-thirds of the men became seized with panic and retreated on the run, he remained with the party until dark when it came safely away, bringing its wounded, its arms, and its colors.
Other Recipients of the Medal of Honor attributed to New Jersey HERE
