Brevet Major General John Ramsey had "few superiors as a stubborn fighter." Several times he received honorable mention in official reports and won his promotions step by step, from 1st Lieutenant up, for "distinguished gallantry." Colonel John J. Toffey entered the Second Regiment a boy of eighteen, re-enlisted in the 33rd Regiment as Lieutenant, and at Chattanooga was called upon to lead a forlorn hope in the place of two captains who had fallen in the attempt; his "superlatively brave conduct saved the position and enabled the entire line the following morning to press forward and unite the lines of the army of the Cumberland with those of General Sherman's army at the mouth of the Chickamauga." At the moment of success Colonel Toffey received a wound which incapacitated him from future service on the field, but he has continued his military services in the Veteran Corps and in the State Militia. He is the proud possessor of a Medal of Honor, granted by Congress under the Act of 1863, "for distinguished bravery in the battle of Chattanooga, November 23, 1863."
Although Jersey City has been so well represented in the volunteer army, there are but three Jersey City men in the regular army; Captain J. B. Vreeland, now retired, but serving as Quartermaster in the war with Spain, and George B. Arrowsmith and John J. Toffey, Jr., who have been appointed Second Lieutenants during the present summer. The late Major Gaines was in the regular army and served during the Mexican War. He organized a regiment during the Civil War. For a great many years he was connected with the Surveyors' Department of the New York Custom House, and was the delegate appointed by the United States at the Paris International Conference to bring about a uniform system of measuring the tonnage of vessels. He was also prominent in procuring increased cubic space for steerage passengers.
Mr. William Knickerbocker Van Reypen entered the service as Assistant Surgeon December 26th, 1861. Having been promoted through the various grades, he now holds the position of Surgeon General of the Navy. Of good Dutch lineage on both sides of the house, he is proving his sterling inheritances by the masterly manner in which he is meeting the terrible responsibilities of his position in providing for all emergencies in the Medical Department of the Navy in this war with Spain. To Surgeon General Van Reypen the world is indebted for the Hospital Ship in war. At the International Medical Congress, held in Moscow in 1896, he presented the plan which was carried out by the United States Government in fitting out the Solace and Relief during the present summer, which were the first ever used. A most valuable addition to a fleet in war, not only in the relief afforded to the sick and wounded, but in rendering the ships more efficient by leaving them with fighting men only, unhampered by the sick and disabled. There is so little space on board men-of-war which can be utilized for hospital purposes that the chances of recovery for the wounded are largely increased. Civilian doctors who have visited the Solace are enthusiastic over the perfection of its arrangements for the sick and wounded. It is a marvel that a ship not built for the purpose could be so well adapted to hospital needs. Jersey City may well be proud of Surgeon General Van Reypen.
The only other representatives of Jersey City in the navy during the war, so far as I can learn, were in the volunteer navy: Acting Master James M. Van Boskerck, who was in command of a guard boat at Alexandria, Virginia; Dr. Forman, who served as assistant surgeon during the war, and Mr. Daniel Toffey, who acted as captain's clerk for his uncle, Captain John L. Worden, on the first Monitor that was built and went into service as an experiment in 1862. Mr. Toffey acted as aid in carrying orders during the famous battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac. Of the nine monitors ordered by the government during the Civil War, six were built in Jersey City shipyards. Aside from the above named, I have been unable to learn of many other citizens of Jersey City who have served in the navy. About 1835, Commodore Wetmore built a large white house on Newark avenue below Baldwin avenue where he and his family lived for many years. At one time he was in command of the Constitution at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. At the building of the Hudson County Court House, Commodore Wetmore determined the astronomical position and the following is the latitude and longitude of the observation spot:
Latitude 40°, 43´, 50", north.
Longitude 14h., 48m., 44., 1s., or 74°, 3´, 40.5", west.
At present Lieutenant Harry Phelps, who graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in the Class of 1880, Lieutenant Charles Phillips Eaton of the Class of 1883, and Lieutenant Philip Andrews of the Class of 1886, are, I believe, the only line officers in the navy from Jersey City.
The Journal's History of Jersey City gives an interesting sketch of the origin and development of the National Guard of the state and ascribes to Mr. William E. Rogers, a former resident of Hudson City, the honor of being the founder of the 4th Regiment and of the National Guard of New Jersey. He was a member of the National Zouaves, a New York company, drilled by W. W. McChesney, the former drill master of the Ellsworth Zouaves. This company was one of the first to enlist for two years in the beginning of the Civil War. During the first year Private Rogers was severely wounded while on picket duty and incapacitated for active field duty, but he obtained a detail as chief clerk of the General Hospital, now the Soldiers' Home at Fortress Monroe, where he served until mustered out of service. After his return he became the teacher of a Bible class of forty boys in Simpson M. E. Church on Central avenue. The boys induced him to give them instruction in the manual of arms. A company was formed which was known officially as "Company A, unattached, N. J. Rifle Corps." Its first public appearance was in a parade at Newark, on Washington's birthday, 1865. It turned out eighty strong, in a blinding snow storm, and by its discipline and soldierly bearing won the commendation and friendship of Governor Ward and Major General Runyon, the reviewing officers.