A Wedding in Camp…
On March 12, 1863, in a rare celebratory event against the backdrop of war, Captain Daniel Hart of the 7th New Jersey Volunteers wed Ellen “Nellie” Lammond in camp. Captain Hart was unable to secure a furlough from camp, prompting Miss Lammond to bring the wedding party to him. It consisted of 10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen who had traveled from Philipsburg, New Jersey to Hart’s winter camp in Falmouth. Members of the 7th New Jersey helped decorate the camp with an arch made of pine branches and an altar made from the field musicians’ stacked drums. The entire chain of command of the Third Corps was in attendance. When the wedding party appeared, the band played the traditional Wedding March. The couple was married by the regimental chaplain, Reverend Julius D. Rose. The artist Alfred Waud, also in attendance, later wrote of the event, “It was rather cold, windy, and threatened snow, altogether tending to produce a slight pink tinge on the noses present; but the ladies bore it with courage, and looked, to the unaccustomed eyes of the soldiers, like real angels in their light clothing. To add to the dramatic force of the scene, the rest of the brigade and other troops were drawn up in line of battle not more than a mile away to repel an expected attack from Fredericksburg. Few persons are wedded under more romantic circumstances…” Following the ceremony, General Daniel Sickles held a reception at his headquarters, which included dinner, dancing, and a fireworks display.
Following the wedding, Captain Hart remained with his regiment and was wounded several times, including at the Battles of
Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania Court House. The Harts had one son, Harry, born in 1876. In 1878, Major Daniel Hart, who was now commander of Fort Stockton, Texas, died after a bout with malaria. Mrs. Hart died in September 1894.
Photo: Courtesy Old Baldy Civil War Round Table of Philadelphia
This sketch of the ceremony by Alfred Waud ran as a print in the April 4, 1863, issue of Harper’s Weekly. Waud called the wedding, “An event to destroy the monotony of life in one of Hooker’s old regiments.”
Photo: Library of Congress
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