On a recent blustery January day, two veteran sailors of the USS Lehigh, along with a good friend of a friend, and one shivering newspaper correspondent set out on a trek to find the grave of Elias P. Seeley, a direct ancestor of William Myers, one of the aforementioned tars. The salty foursome met in Swedesboro, and, traveling south over winter's rutted roads, finally arrived at a windswept cemetery on top of a frozen hill in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Upon looking about we discovered, almost immediately, the object of our search among the many cold, silent tombstones of the departed: the final resting place of the much lamented Elias Seeley, distinguished veteran of our late Civil War.
Mr. Seeley amassed an admirable record of service during the War of the Rebellion, serving first as a private soldier in Company F of the 5th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, 2nd Division, 3rd Corps, Army of the Potomac. His unit was decimated in the swirling vortex of battle that came to be known as the Wheat Field, fought on the second day of July 1863, at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Prior to that momentous contest, Private Seeley was present for every major engagement, march, and minor skirmish of his regiment, including General McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. After Gettysburg, Seeley was transferred to the regulars of Battery H, 4th United States Artillery, on 8 July 1863. Rendering much distinguished service during General Grant's famous Overland Campaign, Seeley was seriously injured from the explosion of a caisson near Totopotomy Creek, Virginia, on 30 May 1864. After recovering from his wounds he was discharged at McDougal Hospital, Fort Schuyler, New York, on 15 September 1864. Returning to civilian life, Seeley became a prominent citizen of the historic town of Bridgeton.
A July 1862 edition of the Bridgeton Evening News reported that Mr. Seeley was installed as Chaplain of the Bridgeton Chapter, Encampment Number 113, of the Union Veteran Legion. This veterans' organization was made up of soldiers, sailors and marines who had volunteered to serve three years during the war, served not less than two years consecutively, and were honorably discharged.
According to the inscription on his headstone, Elias P. Seeley, departed this life November 12, 1922. His many descendants, including Mr. Myers, steam engineer aboard the Lehigh, have much to be proud of in their fond recollections of their brave, soldier-ancestor.
-HJW-
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| Dan Cashin, William Myers, and "Henry" at Overlook Cemetery, Bridgeton, N.J. |
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| Jerry, Dan, and Henry stand behind impressive tombstone of E. P. Seeley |
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