Signed CDV of William P. Amerman 9th New Jersey Infantry with E. Balch Backmark

Signed CDV of William P. Amerman, Company E, 9th New Jersey Infantry – E. Balch Backmark
 
William P. Amerman, born November 23, 1844, enlisted at the young age of 16 on September 20, 1861, and mustered into Company E, 9th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, as a Private. He served a full three-year term and re-enlisted as a veteran on December 20, 1863. Amerman continued serving until he was mustered out with the regiment on July 12, 1865, at Greensboro, North Carolina.
After the war, he returned to civilian life in Bergen County, New Jersey, where he resided until his death in 1921. He is buried in Hackensack Cemetery, Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey.
 
This signed carte-de-visite (CDV) of Private Amerman features a clear period signature and carries the backmark of E. Balch, a New Jersey photographer. The image provides a personal and well-identified portrait of a young New Jersey soldier who served nearly the entire length of the Civil War with one of the state’s most active infantry regiments.
 
The 9th New Jersey Infantry saw extensive service in North Carolina and Virginia, participating in operations along the Atlantic coast, the Roanoke Island expedition, the Siege of Suffolk, and later campaigns in the Carolinas under General Sherman.