There were eight generals, four from the Confederate army and four from the Union army, killed or mortally wounded at the battle of Sharpsburg in September 1862. None of the eighth are buried on the battlefield along Antietam Creek. All were taken back to their respective states and interred therein.
Samuel Garland, Jr. was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1830. After graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 1849, he obtained a law degree from the University of Virginia, setting up practice in Lynchburg. Garland was commissioned colonel of the 11th Virginia Infantry in April 1861. His regiment was involved at First Manassas, and at Dranesville, and he was wounded at Williamsburg. Promotion to brigadier general came on May 23, 1862, with Garland being assigned a brigade in D.H. Hill’s division. The battles of Seven Pines and the Seven Days followed. Hill’s command was back with the Army of Northern Virginia as it made its way to Maryland. Hill’s division was tasked with guarding Fox’s and Turner’s Gaps at South Mountain, protecting the rest of Lee’s army engaged with the capturing of Harpers Ferry.[1]
At Fox’s Gap,
Garland was checking on his hard-pressed left flank when he was struck in the
left hip. Garland told Colonel Ruffin “Col. I am a dead man, send for Col.
McRae to take command.” Garland was placed in a blanket by four men and taken
off the field, dying on the porch of the South Mountain Inn about fifteen
minutes after his wounding.[2]
Garland’s remains were first taken to Richmond, arriving on Thursday, September
18.[3]
They were then transported to Lynchburg where he was buried at the Presbyterian
Cemetery on September 24, 1862.[4]
William E.
Starke was born in Brunswick County, Virginia, in 1814. Prior to the war,
he operated a stage line then moved to Mobile, followed by New Orleans, working
as a cotton broker. When the war came, he returned to Virginia, serving as an
aide to Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett. Later, Starke was commissioned as colonel
of the 60th Virginia Infantry, fighting during the Seven Days
battles. His commission as brigadier general came on August 6, 1862, and he
commanded a brigade in Jackson’s division. He led the brigade at Cedar
Mountain, Groveton, and Second Manassas (where he held division command).
During the Maryland
Campaign, Starke was placed under arrest by Jackson. Some “Foreign” troops were
accused of vandalizing a store in Frederick. Starke commanded the Louisiana brigade,
containing the famed Louisiana Tigers. Ordered to return to Frederick with his
brigade so the culprits could be identified, Starke refused unless the other
brigades in the division also returned. Jackson placed Starke under arrest but
allowed him to remain in command. He helped with the investment of Harpers
Ferry, and at Sharpsburg, was rushed to the Confederate left to shore up the
line.[5]
Starke, commanding a demi-brigade, rushed out of the west woods into a clover
field, countering the Federal advance. His brigades were caught in a crossfire.
As Starke attempted to help get the brigade of Alabama and Virginia troops
moving toward the Federals, he was struck by three bullets. Sources differ on
whether he was killed instantly or died about an hour later.[6]
Starke’s remains were taken to Richmond, arriving on Sunday, September 21,
1862. His funeral was held in St. Paul’s Church on September 24, and he was
buried in Hollywood Cemetery.[7]
Geroge B.
Anderson was born near Hillsboro, North Carolina, in 1831. A
graduate of both the University of North Carolina and the United States
Military Academy. When North Carolina left the Union, Anderson resigned from
the United States Army. He was commissioned colonel of the 4th North
Carolina State Troops. At Seven Pines, Anderson commanded W.S. Featherston’s
brigade and was promoted to brigadier general shortly thereafter. Anderson’s
brigade was assigned to D.H. Hill’s division during the Seven Days battles,
where he was wounded. They missed Cedar Mountain and Second Manassas, but were
back with the Army of Northern Virgina for the Maryland Campaign.[8]
Anderson was
heavily involved at the battle of Fox’s Gap, but survived unwounded. At
Sharpsburg, his brigade was posted in the Sunken Lane (now Bloody Lane) during
the middle portion of the fight. As the struggle for the Sunken Lane heightened,
Anderson was struck in the foot, near the ankle joint. Under fire, he was hauled out of the Sunken
Road and taken to the Piper Farm, where his wound was examined and declared to
be not dangerous. He was later borne via a stretcher further to the rear, under
fire, placed in an ambulance, and taken to Shepherdstown where he found refuge
in the Boteler home. As the Confederate
Army pulled back, Anderson was placed in a wagon and made his way to Staunton,
catching a train through Richmond and on to Raleigh. It took him over a week to
make the journey. Not long thereafter, it was discovered that the ball was
still lodged in his ankle. Infection set in, and although the limb was amputated,
Anderson died of his wounds on October 16, 1862, and is buried in Oakwood
Cemetery, Raleigh.[9]
Lawrence O’ Branch was born near Enfield, Halifax
County, North Carolina, in 1820. He graduated from the College of New Jersey
(now Princeton College) in 1838, and later studied law. Prior to the war, he
was the president of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad and served in the United
State House of Representatives. He declined to serve as Secretary of the
Treasury in the Buchanan administration. At the start of the war, he served as
quartermaster of the state of North Carolina, colonel of the 33rd
North Carolina Troops. Branch was promoted to brigadier general on November 16,
1861. He commanded the Confederate forces at the battle of New Bern in March
1862 – a Confederate defeat, and a brigade at Hanover Court House in May 1862,
also a Confederate defeat. Following Hanover, his brigade was placed in A.P.
Hill’s Light Division. Branch led his brigade through the Seven Days, Cedar
Mountain, Second Manassas, and Chantilly.[10]
At the start of the Maryland
Campaign, Jackson had Hill under arrest, with Branch leading the Light
Division. He was active in the capture of Harper’s Ferry and made the seventeen-mile
march from Harpers Ferry to Sharpsburg on September 17, arriving late in the
day. Most of the members of Branch’s brigade were posted on the hill
overlooking Antietam Creek. Late in the day, as Branch was conferring with two
other officers, a Federal soldier fired into the group, striking Branch as he
was in the process of raising his field glasses to his eyes. Branch was instantly
killed. One of Branch’s staff officers, Maj. Joseph Engelhard, escorted the general’s
body home. In Richmond, Engelhard was met by four men, including William Blount
and William Rodman, both relatives and former staff officers under Branch. When
Branch’s remains arrived in Raleigh Thursday evening, military forces met the
train and escorted the General's body to the Capitol rotunda, while providing a
guard throughout the night. All businesses were closed on Friday morning, and
the number of people on hand were said to rival the visit of Henry Clay in
1840. The next morning, funeral services were conducted by Episcopal clergyman
Rev. Dr. Mason inside the Capitol. Branch was laid to rest in the Old City
Cemetery, Raleigh.[11]
The Federal
generals killed during the campaign were Maj. Gen. Jesse L. Reno; Maj. Gen.
Joseph K.F. Mansfield, Maj. Gen. Israel B. Richardson (mortally wounded), and
Brig. Gen. Isaac P. Rodman (mortally wounded). They were likewise transported North
for burial. Reno is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.; Mansfield is
buried in the Indian Hill Cemetery, Middle, Connecticut; Richardson is buried
in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Pontiac, Michigan; and, Rodman is buried in the Rhode
Island Historical Cemetery South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
[1] Davis,
The Confederate Generals, 2:165.
[2] Hartwig,
To Antietam Creek, 319; Richmond Times-Dispatch, September 25,
1862.
[3] Richmond
Enquirer, September 23, 1862.
[4] Richmond
Times-Dispatch, September 25, 1862.
[5] Davis,
The Confederate Generals, 5:199.
[6] Sears,
Landscape Turned Red, 194; Hartwig, I Dred the Thought of the Place,
64.
[7] Richmond
Dispatch, September 23, 1862.
[8] Davis,
The Confederate Generals, 1:18-9.
[9] Pawlak,
Shepherdstown in the Civil War, 82, 103-4.
[10] Davis,
The Confederate Generals, 1:118-9.
[11] Weekly State Journal, October 1, 1862; The Raleigh Register, September 27,
1862, October 1, 1862.
