David Vail
Civil War Union Soldier.
Friends Meeting House Cemetery
Plainfield NJ
He began his Civil War service when he was mustered in as a Private in Company K, 2nd New Jersey Militia on April 26, 1861. The unit was one of 4 three-month enlistment New Jersey militia regiments that were quickly assembled to meet the percieved threat to Washington, DC after the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter. Deployed first in the defenses of the Capital City, his regiment eventually took part in the July 1861 campaign, where it was held in reserve. He was mustered out on July 31, 1861 when the enlistments expired, but wasted little time re-joining the Union war effort. He was enrolled in the three-year enlistment 6th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry on August 7, 1861, and was mustered in as a Private in Company B on August 26, 1861.
He took part in the opening phases of Major General George B. McClellan's Spring 1862 Peninsular Campaign, and fought in the May 5, 1862 Battle of Williamsburg. There he sustained a wound that would ultimately cause his death at the United States Army General Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland on June 3, 1862. He was one of 4 men of his Company to lose their lives from the Battle.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11754142/david-vail
This info was a surprise when I discovered it while doing some family history research last year. While I am not really related to David Vail, we do have some common ancestors. His Plainfield, NJ branch of the family split away from my Westchester, NY branch in the late 1700s.