[tomball]

Good Afternoon, Foxhole. 

Excellent Civil War thread.

 

Confederate wounded at Smith's Barn, with Dr. Anson Hurd, 14th Indiana Volunteers, in attendance. Keedysville, Md., vicinity.

Selfless Service

At least three AMEDD surgeons gave their lives while performing their duties on a single day during the September 17, 1862 action in the Battle of Antietam. VI Corps Surgeon James White was scouting sites for forward aid stations and planning evacuation routes as his unit prepared to attack Confederate positions in the East Woods when he came under sniper fire and was mortally wounded. Major General William B. Franklin, the corps commander, saw his unit suffer 21% casualties within a few hours and termed White’s loss one which was “severely felt.”  

Surgeon Albert A. Kendall followed the 12th Massachusetts Infantry into the abbatoir of Miller’s Cornfield, where 3000 men fell within a 30-acre enclosure in the space of three hours on that morning. Kendall’s 325 comrades lost 224 men amid the ruined corn crop. Dr. Kendall was mortally wounded while attending to one of the 165 wounded. A similar fate befell the surgeon of the 20th Massachusetts Infantry, which fought Stonewall Jackson’s troops in the West Woods as an entire Union corps marched into an ambush. Dr. Edward Revere, Harvard Medical School graduate, was the grandson of Paul Revere. He, too, died while dressing the wounds of casualties at a regimental aid station located within musket shot of the firing line.

[snippy_about_it]

Dr. Edward Revere, Harvard Medical School graduate, was the grandson of Paul Revere. He, too, died while dressing the wounds of casualties at a regimental aid station located within musket shot of the firing line.

Thanks tomball. We toured the battlefield today and yet I still learned somthing new from you about this battle. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the info on the Surgeons who died at Antietam. We also found out today that a 15 year old Union Bugler, John Cook, took over cannoneer duties under severe fire when the battery he was with was decimated. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

[Old Sarge Ski]

Excellent pic of the 14th Indiana. They were one of the regiments in Kimball's Brigade, French's Division, II Army Corps that hit the Sunken Road. They were on the right flank of the brigade line. Kimball had been Colonel of the 14th before he was given the brigade. The 8th Ohio was next on the left, they were from the north-central part of Ohio mostly from around Oberlin and Lorain. Their commanding officer was Frank Sawyer, who had been a professor at Oberlin College. Next was the 132nd Pennsylvania, a 9-month regiment from the coal fields around Williamsport and Wilkes Barre. Colonel Oakford was the only officer in the regiment with any experience--he had been in the 15th Pennsylvania (3-months service) Infantry in 1861--and he was the first man killed as the attack started. Antietam was the 132nd's first time in action. On the left flank was the 7th Virginia (it wasn't West Virginia until 1863) from around Beckley. The brigade held the crest of the ridge from about 10 AM until 2 PM when the Irish Brigade came up on their left and moved through them to drive the Confederates out of the Sunken Lane. Kimball's brigade was then moved to a position supporting the Union batteries on the ridgeline overlooking Sharpsburg (where the old Visitor Center used to stand) to draw the fire of the Confederate guns so that the Union artillery could identify targets. They lay in this position for the rest of the day.