James H Lamason

James “Jim” Lamason had his first experience with the American Civil War at age nine, when a sister “recruited” him to help with her junior high history project. He cites the American Heritage Young Readers’ Book of the Civil War, with narrative written by Mr. Bruce Catton, as spurring on his youthful interest. Catton’s Civil War centennial trilogy, plus a companion book This Hallowed Ground, pulled him in further. Similar to his co-author/collaborator Gerard “Gerry” Mayers, the Ken Burns mini-series The Civil War and the Ted Turner Pictures Gettysburg movie rekindled his interest. A discovery of his wife being a relation to Civil War general G. K. Warren during a family get-together contributed to his interest and in becoming a true passion to learn more of this period.

He has researched, studied, and read about the Eleventh Regiment of New Jer-sey Volunteers for over fifteen years. During that time, he has also been involved with the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association. In that organization, he served a three-year term as president; he has also been (and continues) as a trustee.

As with his wife, Lamason has ancestors who served in the Civil War. In addition to Lt. William J. Mount mentioned in this book, he is related to Pvt. John Dougherty, Thirtieth New Jersey Volunteers; to Pvt. Samuel Gillespie, Thirty-third New Jersey Volun-teers; to Cpl. Ezekiel Pope, Second Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery; to Pvt. Jacob Lamason, First Pennsylvania Reserves/Twentieth Pennsylvania Cavalry (step-two times great-grandfather); and to Jedediah Hotchkiss, mapmaker for Confederate Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (five times great-uncle). Recently retired after a career in IT for financial institutions and then in retail with Home Depot, he lives with his wife Beverly and son Steven in Middlesex, New Jersey.