William Joyce Sewell

William Joyce Sewell (December 6, 1835 – December 27, 1901) was born in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland immigrating to the United States in 1851 where he worked in the merchant industry in Chicago, Illinois before moving to Camden, New Jersey in 1860. He became a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Chancellorsville. He was also a postbellum U.S. Senator from New Jersey.

Civil War

Sewell began his Civil War service as a Captain with the 5th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry on August 28, 1861.^[1] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 7, 1862 and colonel on January 6, 1863.

Sewell received the Medal of Honor in 1896, for having assumed command of a brigade at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 3, 1863, where he was wounded.^[1] He was the only officer to be awarded the Medal of Honor while in command of a New Jersey regiment. It was awarded to him on March 25, 1896.

Sewell was severely wounded again at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, while commanding his unit along Emmitsburg Road on the second day of the battle, July 2, 1863. The wounds forced him from the field for a significant period of time. He resigned on July 6, 1863 and returned on October 1, 1864.^[1][2] When he came back, he was given command as Colonel of the 38th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, but did not hold that command long, as his wounds eventually caused him to end his Civil War field service and to be reassigned to command of Fort Powhatan in the Department of Virginia between January 1865 and April 1865. Sewell was mustered out of the volunteers on June 30, 1865.^[1]

In recognition of Sewell's service, on January 13, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Sewell for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general, United States Volunteers for "gallant and meritorious services at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Va.," to rank from March 13, 1865 and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.^[3] On July 18, 1868, President Andrew Johnson nominated Sewell for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers for "gallant and meritorious services during the war," to rank from March 13, 1865 and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1868.^[4]

Politics

After the war, Sewell worked in the railroad industry in New Jersey before being elected to the state senate, serving from 1872 until 1881, and as the senate's president in 1876 from 1879 to 1880. Subsequently, he was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican and served from March 4, 1881, to March 3, 1887. During this period he chaired:

• the Committee on Enrolled Bills (Forty-seventh Congress and Forty-eighth Congress),
• the Committee on Military Affairs (Forty-ninth Congress), and
• the Committee on the Library (Forty-ninth Congress).

He also served as one of the national commissioners for New Jersey to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, was in command of the Second Brigade of the National Guard of New Jersey, and was appointed a member of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Sewell was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1887, 1889 and 1893 but was again elected to the United States Senate in 1895 and served from March 4, 1895. During this term he chaired the Committee on Enrolled Bills (Fifty-fourth Congress through Fifty-seventh Congress).

Death

He died on December 27, 1901, at age 66, in Camden, New Jersey.^[1][5] His Senate seat, vacant because of his death, was filled by Prudential Insurance founder John F. Dryden. Sewell was buried in [1] Harleigh Cemetery, in Camden, New Jersey,^[1] in the Spring Grove Section, Lot 75. His grave is marked by a cross designed by sculptor Alexander Milne Calder.

Legacy

In 2005 a government issue Medal of Honor marker was erected on his grave site. He is one of three Civil War Union Brevet Generals interred in Harleigh, the others being Colonel George C. Burling of the 6th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry and Colonel Timothy C. Moore of the 34th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization:

Colonel, 5th New Jersey Infantry. Place and Date: At Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863. Entered Service At: Camden, N.J. Born: December 6, 1835, Castlebar,Ireland. Date of Issue: March 25, 1896.

Citation:

Assuming command of a brigade, he rallied around his colors a mass of men from other regiments and fought these troops with great brilliancy through several hours of desperate conflict, remaining in command though wounded and inspiring them by his presence and the gallantry of his personal example.^[6][7]

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: Q–S

Notes

References

• "Encyclopedia of New Jersey". http://odin.rutgers.edu/njencyclopedia/sewell_william.html. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
• Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.

• William Joyce Sewell at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

• "William Joyce Sewell". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3649. Retrieved 2008-08-05.