J. Newton (John Newton) Terrill

John Newton Terrill (July 10, 1842 – February 20, 1916), often listed as J. Newton Terrill, was an American Civil War veteran and author. Sources consistently identify him as a sergeant in Company K of the 14th New Jersey Volunteers, and he is remembered chiefly for writing Campaign of the Fourteenth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.

That book was begun soon after the war and later published in the 1880s. Rather than offering a distant overview, Terrill wrote as someone who had taken part in the regiment’s marches and battles, giving readers a close, soldier’s-eye account of campaigns including Maryland, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and the final collapse of the Confederacy.

Little widely sourced biographical material about his life beyond military service and authorship appears to be readily available online. Even so, his book has remained in circulation through public-domain archives and audiobook platforms, preserving a vivid personal record of one New Jersey regiment’s wartime experience.