New Jersey 24th Regiment at Camp Cumberland, Hall’s Hill – Image Courtesy of the Cumberland County Historical Society
During the Civil War (1861-1865) tens of thousands of Federal troops passed through Arlington. Many captured their experiences by writing letters home. But a few were accomplished artists, and their sketches and drawings provide a more detailed account of their lives as soldiers. One of these soldier/artists was John G. Keyser who served with the New Jersey Twenty-Fourth Regiment. Keyser was born in Oberstenfeld, Germany on May 13, 1827. He immigrated to Philadelphia when he was 19 years old and later moved to Bridgeton, New Jersey. On September 2nd, 1862 Keyser enrolled in the army, joining the Twenty-Fourth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers Company H.
Established as an artist before the war, Keyser put his talent to use during his nine month enlistment (September 2, 1862 – June 19, 1863). His company travelled from New Jersey to Baltimore, Washington then to its final destination of Virginia, where they spent majority of their time. The 24th was involved in both the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862 and the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. Keyser’s drawings documents life in the army, including marching, the camps, battles, and the men he fought with.
The Cumberland County Historical Society in New Jersey acquired Keyser’s sketches following the artist’s death in 1902. The collection remained relatively unknown until they were digitized in 2017 by the Warren and Reba Lummis Genealogical & Historical Research Library. The collection has great value for Civil War researchers, especially those in Arlington, since several images capture Federal soldiers camping at Hall’s Hill and guarding Chain Bridge.
John G. Keyser’s Civil War Sketches Collection
After the war Keyser returned to Bridgeton, New Jersey and continued to work as a painter. In the 1890s he traveled throughout Europe where he sold sketches of battle scenes of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, along with sketches of camp life during the war. Keyser fell ill in Germany and died there on February 11, 1902.
