Col. Joseph Warner Allen (USA)

Civil War Union Army Officer. Born near Bristol, Pennsylvania, he worked most of his life as a surveyor and civil engineer. In the 1840s he helped survey the trainline through areas of Bergen County, New Jersey for the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad. A depot on the line was called Allendale in his honor, and the borough of Allendale, New Jersey eventually grew up around it. He surveyed for railroads in New Jersey, Virginia and Mississippi, and served as a Whig in the New Jersey State Senate from 1853 to 1858.

When the Civil War began he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel in the New Jersey State Militia, and served as an Assistant Quartermaster General, helping to recruit and equip volunteers from the state.

He then helped recruit the 9th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, a regiment made up of sharpshooting riflemen, and was commissioned its Colonel and commander on September 23, 1861. Sent to participate in Union operations in North Carolina, he directed his regiments arrival at Cape Hatteras. After rowing across the Cape to inform his superiors of the 9th New Jersey's arrival, he was returning in a boat that contained Lieutenant Colonel Charles Heckman, Major Abram Zabriskie, and Chief Surgeon Frederick Weller. The boat was capsized by a wave, and all the occupants were knocked over into the water. Lt. Col Heckman and Maj. Zabriskie managed to cling to the boat and be rescued, but Colonel Allen and Surgeon Weller drowned. After their bodied washed ashore, they were first buried near the Cape, but were eventually returned to New Jersey.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Nov 8 2021, 6:05:48 UTC