Unknown to the men of Ocean County and their comrades in the 9th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, the successful capture of Roanoke Island, N.C., in February 1862 wasn’t the end of their trial by fire, but only the beginning.

Gen. Ambrose Burnside was the overall commander of the Army and Navy expedition numbering about 15,000 men but was working as part of the overall Union strategy. Gen. George B.