a companion to Antietam on the Web
Private Robert C Cannon of Company G, 48th Alabama Infantry was killed in action at Sharpsburg, MD on 17 September 1862. He left a wife and 3 small children on the farm at Walnut Grove, AL. This photograph was contributed to his memorial on Findagrave by Stanley A. Hutson.
This post-war portrait based on a photograph of John Rayburn is in the Alabama Archives in Montgomery. He’s wearing First (or Orderly) Sergeant’s stripes here, but was Captain of Company K of the 9th Alabama Infantry at Sharpsburg, where he was killed in action on 17 September 1862.
On the occasion of the battle anniversary this month I’ve taken stock of the AotW database. There may be another lifetime’s work to do in other areas of the Campaign, but I now have a reasonably complete list of the troops who were killed and mortally wounded at Sharpsburg. The first of its kind anywhere, as far as I know. Pretty cool!
I’ve created a couple of new reports on the subject which you can download at the end of this post.
When I count the individuals who were killed outright or were mortally wounded and died on 16, 17, or 18 September 1862 I get 1,653 Confederates (the Official Records say 1,550 were killed) and 2,205 Federals (OR has 2,100).
I’ve also pulled the names of the soldiers who died of their Sharpsburg wounds in the days and weeks afterward. These make an additional 772 Confederates and 980 Federals.
So if you suspected the official numbers were a little low, you were right. As a caution, let me remind both my readers that the records are sometimes awful and occasionally missing altogether, and besides, I’ve certainly not seen every source there is to see. I’m sure I’ll find more names to add.
Also, I need to look at it some more, but there may be enough in my collection to name most of those 5,800+ burials on the newly-identified S.G. Elliott map. Just don’t ask me to guess which of those little marks are which person. I haven’t looked at any others on the map yet [update: see my annotated exhibit on the Elliot map], but the man listed in the map portion above as F.L. Fraser is E. L. Fraser, Private of Company I, 12th South Carolina. Later records of his field burial correlate well with the 1864 Elliott map.
Ok, so just in time for the anniversary, here are 2 versions each of two reports listing the killed of Antietam. As always, if you can add names or improve the information please let me know.
Men Killed in the Battle of Antietam at Sharpsburg, Maryland 16-18 September 1862
Sorted by state | Sorted by rank [3834 names, 1.0 MB pdf]
Men Who Later Died of Wounds from the Battle of Antietam at Sharpsburg
Sorted by state | Sorted by rank [1736 names, 500 KB pdf]
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These new lists and the ongoing Dead of the Campaign list are also hosted, and will be updated in the future, under Antietam 150: The Dead of the Maryland Campaign elsewhere on this blog.
The man in the upper right here, in uniform, is Private George F. Fletcher, newly enlisted in the 15th Massachusetts Infantry. He was wounded in the face at Antietam and recovered, only to be killed at Gettysburg in July 1863. His brothers Samuel and James were also in the regiment and James may be the young man at the upper left. James was killed at Antietam and Sam survived the war. Their parents, also pictured, are Margaret and Ephraim Fletcher.
This collection of 4 miniature ambrotype photographs in a single 3″x4-5/8″ case was contributed to George’s memorial on Findagrave by Norman Dagen.
The report of his death on South Mountain in September 1862 was premature. 19 year old Sergeant Thomas W Hall of the 6th Alabama Infantry was wounded and captured near Turner’s Gap, but was paroled and exchanged in November to return home.
Based on his apparent age in it, this photograph may be of Hall and his second wife Martha Rebecca Underwood taken on the occasion of their marriage in 1885. He married his first wife, Martha’s cousin Sarah Underwood when he was home in 1863. He married a third time, to Martha’s sister Eula, in 1902. The photograph was contributed to his memorial on Findagrave by Rick Thiot.