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William
H. McKeen was born in New Jersey around 1841. When the Census
was taken in 1860 he was living in Camden's Middle Ward with a
boilermaker, John Cline, his wife Sarah and their children. It
appears that William H. McKeen may have been married to Mary
Cline. However, in the 1870 Census, in which he appears as Henry
McKeen, he is living elsewhere and is single.
William
Henry McKeen enlisted as a Private in Company A, 10th Infantry
Regiment New Jersey on September 21, 1861. The Tenth
Regiment was eventually attached to the First
Brigade
of New Jersey Volunteers. Companies A, E,
H, and I, of it, were recruited in Camden
County. It was created under authority
from the War Department and recruited by
Colonel William Bryan, of Beverly, against
the wishes of Governor Olden, although it
was named the "Olden Legion." His objection was that the War Department issued the
authorization direct to private individuals instead of through and to the officials of the
State — a course which had previously been
unknown. The regiment proceeded to Washington December 26, 1861. On January 29,
1862, the Governor finally accepted it as part
of the quota of New Jersey, whereupon it was
thoroughly reorganized and designated as the
Tenth Regiment, and Colonel William R.
Murphy appointed to it. In April, 1863, it
was relieved from provost duty in Washington and sent to Suffolk, Virginia, where, on April
23rd and May 4th, it shared in the repulse of
Longstreet as a portion of Corcoran's brigade.
Peck's division, Seventh Corps. In July it
was ordered to Philadelphia in anticipation
of a resistance to the draft, and remained
there two months. Its dress parades were one of the shows of the city. In September
it was moved to Pottsville, Pa., and spent
the winter of 1863-64 in Schuylkill, Carbon
and Luzerne Counties repressing the Confederate sympathizers of the coal region, who
were encouraging desertions, interfering with
recruiting, interrupting mining operations
and murdering men conspicuous for their devotion to the Union. Colonel O. H.
Ryer
son, who succeeded Murphy in command,
was president of a commission which tried
many of these offenders. During the winter
the regiment re-enlisted and in April, 1864,
joined the First Brigade at Brandy Station,
Virginia, sharing in all its subsequent
battles. In the battle of the Wilderness the regiment suffered
severely, especially in the assault of the Confederate General
Gordon late on May 6th. In the engagement resulting from this
assault, the regiment lost nearly one entire company in prisoners
alone, and losing Colonel Ryerson, who was
mortally wounded in the Wilderness. On the evening of the 8th it
again met the foe, when the regiment on its left became in
some way separated from it and the two being thus isolated,
were pounced upon by the enemy with great force, compelling
them to give way, with heavy loss- the 10th having 80 men
and several officers captured, including Col. Tay, the
prisoners being taken to the rear and the next day started
for Richmond, but were fortunately on the same day rescued
from the hands of their guards by Genreral Sheridan, at
Beaver Dam Station. The total loss of the regiment up to this
time, aside from prisoners, had been 113- 18 killed and 95
wounded. In the fighting along the Po
river the 10th shared with the brigade, and at Cold Harbor again
suffered largely, being in the first day's engagement in the
third line of battle, and losing some 70 in killed and
wounded. In the assault upon the enemy's position the regiment
charged alone at a peculiarly exposed point and sustained heavy loss,
amounting in all to some 65 in killed and wounded. On August
15 it participated in a sharp picket skirmish near Strasburg,
and two days afterward took part in the battle of Winchester,
assisting to hold the whole of Early's army in check for a
period of six hours. The regiment not only lost considerably in
killed and wounded, but also in prisoners, Col. Tay being
again captured, with 115 men of the brigade. At the close
of this affair, the 10th, which crossed the Rapidan in May
with 600 men, had only 80 men left for duty--a fact which
exhibits more forcibly than any words the severity of the experience
which it had been called upon to undergo. In the subsequent
battles in the Shenandoah Valley the regiment, feeble as it
was, bravely maintained its reputation. During the winter
of 1864-65, having with the brigade rejoined the army
before Petersburg and being largely recruited, it participated
in the various movements which resulted so detrimentally to
the enemy and in the grand assault of April 2 rendered
distinguished service. When the Confederate flag went down at
Appomattox, the regiment turned its face homeward, reaching
the vicinity of Washington, 450 strong, on June 2, and was
mustered out of service at Hall's Hill, Virginia on June 22,
1865. The total strength of the regiment was 2,584, and it
lost, by
resignation 20; by discharge 293; by promotion 69; by transfer 162;
by death 274; by desertion 748; by dismissal 1; not accounted
for 138; mustered out 879. Private
William Henry "Harry" McKeen was among those who
mustered out of Company A, 10th Infantry Regiment New
Jersey July 1, 1865 at Hall's Hill. William
Henry McKeeen returned to Camden, and as stated above, in the 1870 Census,
he appears as Henry
McKeen, living in the Middle Ward, is single and working as a
fireman. This is consistent with Camden Fire Department records
which show him living at 112 South
2nd Street and as a
fireman for the Camden & Amboy Rail Road. William Henry
McKeen was appointed to the Camden Fire Department in April of
1870 and served for almost three years. He resigned from service on March 8, 1873.
He was still living at
112 South
2nd Street during his last year of service. William
McKeen does not appear in the 1878-1879 Camden City Directory
and appears to have left the city. He did live long enough to
collect an invalids Civil War pension. |
