Killing McPherson

“An inestimable loss has fallen upon the western army in the death of the gallant McPherson,” reported the Army and Navy Journal. “To his immediate superior, it is a calamity like that which General Meade sustained in the death of Sedgwick. Skillful as the western corps commanders are, the loss of no one of them would have been more keenly felt in the future of the campaign than will that of McPherson. Like Sherman, the aim of his life was to be a thorough and accomplished soldier.”[1] In an order issued to his army, General William Tecumseh Sherman mourned the death of McPherson who “fell in battle, booted, belted, and spurred, as the gallant knight and gentleman should wish. History tells us of few who so blended the grace and gentleness of the friend with the dignity, courage, faith and manliness of the soldier. I fail in words adequate to express my opinion of his great worth.”[2]

The loss of Major General James Birdseye McPherson, then serving as commander of the Army of the Tennessee, removed one of the brightest stars from the firmament of the Union army. Universally beloved by his troops, well-respected by his peers and superiors, the circumstances and details of McPherson’s demise brought forth copious accounts in the late 19^th and 20^th centuries from both Federal and Confederate eyewitnesses. As might be expected, details and versions of events differ, and the aim of this article is to reconcile these accounts as best as possible to render as true an account as might be offered.

Major General James B. McPherson

The story picks up in the late morning hours of July 22, 1864. General McPherson had been busily riding along the lines of the Army of the Tennessee witnessing the opening blows of the Battle of Atlanta. “General McPherson was on the field in person and remained on the right of the 16^th Corps until the first assault of the enemy had been repulsed,” wrote his inspector general Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong. “As soon as he became satisfied that the enemy had failed in their first attempt to break the lines at this point, he started to ride through the woods to General Giles A. Smith’s division which held the left of the 17^th Corps, it having been reported to him that the enemy in heavy force was moving around the left of the 17^th Corps and were pushing in towards the gap which I have referred to. The only road which it was possible to travel in order to reach General Smith’s command without making a lengthy detour to the rear and crossing a number of ravines and streams ran nearly in prolongation of the line of the 16^th Corps. The General had ridden over the road about 10 o’clock and it had been passed over constantly by the troops of our army up to a quarter past 12 and ten minutes prior to the General’s death I had passed over the road from General Blair’s command without being fired at. I rode with the General until we struck the road leading through the woods. He stopped for a moment and looked the ground over carefully and then sent me to Major General [John] Logan [15^th Corps] with the last order he ever gave- probably the last time he spoke to any person. Unfortunately, I happened to be the only officer with him at the time, the balance of his staff officers having been sent with orders to different portions of the field. The substance of the order was to obtain a brigade from General Logan’s command and throw it across the gap east of the road connecting with the right of the 16^th Corps and to immediately join him at General Smith’s command. When he had given me the order, he dashed into the woods on the road mentioned accompanied only by his orderly [Andrew J. Thompson] and as soon as he could ride 150 yards he was killed.”[3]

Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong

Orderly Thompson from the 4^th Independent Company of Ohio Cavalry, assigned as General McPherson’s escort, picks up the story: “Here Captain John B. Raymond (now a member of Congress from Nebraska) of General [Mortimer] Leggett’s staff came up and said. ‘General McPherson, General Leggett wants to know what he shall do; they have crowded him back. ‘McPherson replied ‘Tell General Leggett to straighten his lines parallel with this road just as quick as God will let you.’ Captain Raymond turned and rode back at full speed, McPherson and I following about 50 yards in his rear. In a few moment we were in the woods and as Captain Raymond rounded a slight bend in the road just ahead of us, a roar of musketry greeted our ears and Raymond’s horse fell, throwing its rider in the leaves to the left.”[4]

Following behind McPherson and Orderly Thompson was a contingent of mounted Signal Corps officers and men, one of them being Lieutenant W.W. Allen who continues the story. “Captain John B. Raymond of General Leggett’s staff came riding rapidly back and seeing us turned across to where we were saying to General McPherson as he approached, ‘General this is no place for you’ to which the General replied, ‘Oh, I’m in no danger here Whose command is in our front, meaning what troops connected with our left front. The answer was ‘a part of Fuller’s.’ But this proved a mistake as there was a gap here of at least 80 rods between Fuller’s command and the 17^th Corps. A few more words which I did not hear, and the said officer rode away to the west. The firing this time along Fuller’s front was quieting down but was very heavy to the west. ‘They are coming all right there,’ the General said wheeling to the right, started on a sharp gallop along the edge of the woods skirting the narrow field south of the creek. After riding from 150 to 100 paces north of west he turned sharply to the left into the timber along an old road which, bearing southwest led through a thick growth of pines, oaks, and underbrush soon emerging into more open and larger timber. Here and where the road bends to the right, we met the enemy advancing in a northeasterly direction, their line touching the road at this behind as we came dashing up.”[5]

General McPherson's statue in Washington, D.C.

Orderly Thompson describes what happened next. “Immediately the shrubbery became alive with gray uniforms and probably a hundred muskets were leveled upon McPherson and me and from the front and left the cry ‘Halt! Halt!’ rang out. The General checked his horse with a suddenness and nearly threw the animal off its feet, and lifting his hat in a polite salute, wheeled sharp to the right and gave spurs to his horse. At the second jump of the horse, the General fell to the ground a musket ball having pierced him through the back. It is nonsense to claim, as has been done, that a single shot was fired, as a volley (and a heavy one) was hurled at us. I was leaning over my horse’s neck to escape the fire from behind and just as I saw McPherson fall I either struck against a tree or was dragged off by a heavy bough, and for a few moments lay stunned. Recovering quickly, I hurried to where McPherson lay about ten feet from me and stooping to raise him, asked ‘General are you hurt?’ He answered, ‘Oh orderly, I am.’ The Confederates did not know whom they had shot until they heard me call his name. Immediately after McPherson had spoken to me, he turned over on his face, straighten himself out and convulsively clutched the leaves with his hands, his body in the meantime quivering and trembling like an aspen. He was then in the death agony and never spoke afterwards. While the General was in the throes of death, I was being roughly handled by the Confederates and though I would not be long in following the General ‘to that bourne from whence no traveler returns’ as I heard cried of “shoot the damn Yankee’ accompanied by the click of several muskets. I was marched to the rear where I found 1,950 Union prisoners among whom was Captain Raymond whom I had seen roll from his horse.”[6]

Confederate accounts differ with several individuals claiming responsibility for firing the fatal shot that killed General McPherson. Acting Sergeant Major James H. Mathis of the 17^th-18^th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted) provided this version: “we came to a small glade nearly in the shape of the moon about four days before it becomes new, surrounded by very thick small timber and brush. There had been a new road cut coming into the glade at the upper point deflecting in a sort of curve and coming out at the lower point. Just as our line of battle came into this glade, General McPherson at a gallop entered at the upper point not more than 20 or 30 yards from our line of battle. Upon being commanded to halt, he checked his horse as quickly as possible, and lifted his cap. When ordered to dismount, he wheeled his horse and attempted to make his escape. About the second jump his horse made, two guns were fired (and only two), both by men of the 18^th Texas and both good shots, the blaze from their guns being simultaneous, when General McPherson fell from his horse which ran into Federal lines. No other shots were fired until after the General fell from his horse, though some four or five shots were afterwards fired at another man, said to be his orderly, although he claimed at the time to be on the General’s staff; this man’s horse was shot in the neck and falling with him, he was captured.”[7]

Captain John S. Foster, 4th Independent Co., Ohio Cavalry
Foster commanded McPherson's escort company but was not near the General when McPherson met his end.

Private Robert D. Compton from Co. I of the 24^th-25^th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted) also made claim to have fired the fatal shot. “. In this engagement, the advanced pickets of the 24^th Texas were covered with dense woods with much underbrush and thickets interspersed with ravines. After driving in the Federal soldiers in their front, their attention was attracted to a small part of mounted men rapidly riding parallel to them yet somewhat angling toward them. Their first momentary impression was that it was a charge of cavalry- the woods being so thick that the Confederates could not well distinguish their number. But it proved to be General McPherson and his staff. When the General, who was somewhat in the advance, had approached to within 20 paces, he was ordered by Compton to halt. McPherson made no halt nor reply to this, but instantly wheeled his horse and veered his course a little more to the right and continued his speed. Compton then fired, and McPherson instantly fell from his horse, still, however, holding on to the reins. The remainder of the party made the escape except a courier and a surgeon. They immediately surrendered to the pickets, the surgeon saying to the Confederates, “My God, you have killed General McPherson!” These two- the surgeon and the courier- then sprang to the assistance of the dying general. He was mortally wounded, the ball of Compton striking him in the left of the small of the back and coming out at the right breast. General McPherson was killed about 2 o’clock in the afternoon.”[8]

Captain Richard Beard of Co. E, 5^th Confederate Infantry, claimed that Corporal Robert F. Coleman of his company was the man who killed McPherson. ““We commenced a double quick through a forest covered by dense underbrush. Here we ran through a line of skirmishers and took them without firing a gun and suddenly came to the edge of a little wagon road running parallel with our line of march and down which General McPherson came thundering at the head of his staff. He came upon us suddenly and was surprised to find himself face to face with the Rebel line. My own company and possibly others of the regiment had reached the verge of the road when he discovered for the first time that he was within a few feet of where we stood. I was so near him as to see every feature of his face. I was satisfied that he was a General officer and nothing less than a corps commander. I threw up my sword as a signal to him to surrender. He checked his horse slightly, raised his hat as politely as though saluting a lady, wheeled his horse’s head directly to the right, and dashed off to the rear in full gallop. Corporal Robert F. Coleman, who was standing near me, was ordered to fire upon him. He did so, and it was his ball that brought General McPherson down. He was shot passing under the thick branches of a tree and as he was bending over his horse’s neck, either to avoid coming in contact with the limbs or possibly to escape the death-dealing bullets of the enemy that he knew were sure to follow him. The ball ranged upward across the body and passed near the heart.

The "road" near which McPherson fell on July 22, 1864. One suspects that the loose cannon shells and broken wagon wheel were props dragged into place to make a more dramatic picture of what was an otherwise unspectacular piece of overgrown jack-oak swamp. 

Beard continued: “A number of shots were also fired at the retreating staff. I ran up immediately to where the dead General lay, just as he had fallen upon his knees and face. I was among the first, if not the first who reach him. A number of Federal writers have said that he was not killed instantly. But at the time I saw him there, there was not a quiver in his body to be seen- no sign of life perceptible. The fatal bullet had done its work well and to every appearance he was dead. Even as he lay there, dressed in his major general’s uniform, with his face in the dust, he was as magnificent looking a specimen of manhood as I ever saw. Right by his side lay a man who, if at all hurt, was but slightly wounded, whose horse had been shot from under him. I noticed he had a spot of blood on his cheek. [This would be Orderly Andrew Thompson] From his appearance I took him to be the adjutant or inspector general of the staff, but he afterwards I think turned out to be a signal officer. Pointing to the dead man, I asked. ‘Who is this lying there?’ He answered with tears in his eyes, ‘Sir, it is General McPherson. You have killed the best man in our army.’ This was the first intimation we had as to who the officer was and to his rank.”[9]

Coleman himself corroborated Beard’s account in a deathbed confession to William Cullen. “Captains Beard, Wilson, he, and other emerged from the underbrush into a road and immediately in their front were two officers with other members of the staff. Captain Wilson threw up his sword and said ‘Surrender!’ One of the officers threw up his hands in token of surrender, but the other spurred his horse and made a dash for a pine thicket on the opposite side of the road, at the same time taking off his hat and throwing himself forward on the saddle and diving under the limbs of a small pine tree. Captain Wilson exclaimed ‘Shoot him! Shoot him!’ I raised my gun and fired. The officer fell from his horse on his face. I stopped to reload my gun, but Captain Wilson walked over to the fallen man, turned him over on his back, and asked the prisoner who the dead officer was. His reply was ‘That is Major General J.B. McPherson.’ Captain Wilson said, ‘I will take his sword,’ and addressing the prisoner asked, ‘who are you?’ The answer was ‘I am his adjutant general.’ Wilson then took off the dead man’s watch and gave it to the adjutant general telling him to deliver it to Gen. McPherson’s wife. In the meantime, he command had formed in the road and march away. The sword was after the war restored to Mrs. McPherson by Captain Wilson who acknowledged its receipt.”[10]

The Confederate line quickly moved on and left the apparently dead General behind, but a wounded Federal soldier, Private George J. Reynolds of Co. D of the 15^th Iowa Infantry, soon found him. “I struck a road leading into Atlanta where the Rebels had captured a piece of artillery, and seeing their cavalry still in possession of this road, I went back into the timber and come out on the road further out and crossed and some little distance after crossing the road, I saw a man in a blue uniform lying on the ground some distance ahead and on nearer approach recognized our beloved commander, the brave General McPherson, without a living being then in sight of him save myself. He was still living but in his death struggles, and when I offered him water he made no reply. He seemed unconscious but showed signs of life for 15 or 20 minutes, his struggles during that time changing his head to the opposite point from what it was when I first saw him.”[11]

Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong of McPherson’s staff relayed additional details he obtained in conversations with Reynolds. “About the time of his death, while Reynolds was engaged in moistening his lips and bathing his forehead, showing him such attention and care as his wounded condition would permit, a straggler from the front came upon the scene. As soon as he learned from Reynolds the name of the dying officer, he asked if he had examined his pocket book and at the same instant drew it from the General’s pocket and opened it. General McPherson had been paid for several months’ service at Chattanooga about the 4^th or 5^th of May two or three days before the beginning of the campaign against Atlanta; and this money, rather a large sum [$800], he had in his pocket book at the time he was shot. The instant it caught the eye of the straggler referred to, he proposed to Reynolds to divide with him, saying it would be supposed by the General’s friends that the enemy had had possession of his body and rifled his pockets. This proposition Reynolds indignantly spurned and said to the man that he must instantly replace the money taken from the pocketbook and that everything the General possessed must be sacredly guarded and delivered to his staff. With an oath, the man replied, ‘Then I will keep it all as you refuse to share it with me.’ And casting the empty pocketbook upon the ground and holding on to the money, he ran quickly away from Reynolds who tried his best to restrain him and disappeared in the woods towards the rear.”[12]

Following the departure of the Federal thief, George Sherland of Co. B, 64^th Illinois happened upon the scene as remembered by Reynolds. ““A few minutes after the General’s death, I saw one of our men passing some distance off and called to him, ‘come here!’ He asked, ‘Is there any danger?’ I replied no. He then came and while we were talking about what was best to do, three rebel soldiers, one of them carrying part of a stretcher, came up and talked of carrying off the General’s body, but fearing they would encounter some of our forces, decided not to do so. As they went away, they ordered us to accompany them, but as they were unarmed like ourselves, we declined the invitation. He and I then started at the double quick to try and find our lines. In about a quarter of a mile we came upon a train of ambulances. I asked the driver of the first to go with me to get the General’s body, but he refused. I went to the next one and just as I spoke to the driver, General William E. Strong, Assistant Inspector General Army of the Tennessee of General McPherson’s staff, rode up and I told him my story. He at once ordered the ambulance driver to follow me.”[13]

Lieutenant Colonel Strong continues: “A wounded soldier came out of the woods nearby accompanied by another soldier who was unhurt. Seeing me, they asked if I was not an officer of McPherson’s staff, and upon my returning an affirmative reply, said that the General was dead and that they a had a few minutes previous left his remains; and to corroborate their statement they showed me and gave into my possession a knife, a bunch of keys, and a number of other articles which I at once recognized as belonging to McPherson. The wounded soldier was George Reynolds, Co. D, 15^th Iowa Infantry and the other was Joseph Sherland Co. B, 64^th Illinois Infantry. They both volunteered to guide me to the spot where the General’s body was lying but said it would be impossible to get to it and get it out from that direction- that we would have to go back and go in by the road.”[14]

Captain Daniel H. Buel

A rescue party was quickly organized, consisting of Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong, Captain Daniel H. Buel (chief ordnance officer of the Army of the Tennessee), Private Reynolds, Private Sherland, and the ambulance driver, Private William Burke of Co. E of the 43^rd Ohio. Lieutenant Colonel Strong continues: “I retraced my steps accompanied by the two men and soon reached the open fields where General Wangelin’s brigade was still in position awaiting orders. I here met Captain D.H. Buel, chief ordnance officer of our army, who volunteered to make the attempt with me to recover the General’s remains. General Wangelin gave us a four-mule ambulance, and we proceeded without delay through the woods to the road upon which the General was riding when killed. The firing had ceased at this time and we resolved to make a dash in with the ambulance and bring off the General’s remains if possible. We dashed in on this road and down it as fast as the animals could carry us and were soon near enough to the point where Reynolds thought the body lat. The ambulance was turned quickly about, and the mules headed out. Buel and I dismounted, the orderlies holding the horses. Buel and Sherland, revolvers in hand, walked down from the ambulance and promised to watch the road and protect the ambulance while George Reynolds, weak and faint as he was from the loss of blood, guided me through the dense thicket and underbrush to the spot where McPherson’s body lay.”

“We found it about 20 or 30 yards from the main road.[15] Raising his body quickly from the ground and grasping it firmly under the arms, I dragged it with such assistance as Reynolds could offer, through the brush to the ambulance and with the aid of the other members of our party deposited it therein and then we all went out as we went in, on the keen run. When we reached a safe position, the ambulance was stopped, and the General’s remains placed in a proper position; his limbs were straightened, his arms folded upon his breast, his head tightly bandaged and supported upon a blanket. And thus, we carried to General Sherman’s headquarters all that remained of the gallant soldier and beloved commander of the Army of the Tennessee. The enemy were in possession of his body for a short time but evidently unacquainted with his rank, as they only took from him his watch, sword belt, field glass, and a few private papers which were in his side pocket. All the articles were recovered from prisoners taken during the day except his watch. No article of clothing had been taken from his person except his hat and this may have been lost in the woods before he fell from his horse.”[16]

Private William P. Brown of the 30^th Illinois, a Federal straggler who had witnessed McPherson and Thompson riding into the woods while he picked blackberries, also witnessed the rescue party hauling out the dead General. “The ambulance did not go more than six or eight rods past me then stopped. In a short time, it turned around and drove back the way it came. As the ambulance passed me by the wind blew up the side curtain and I saw General McPherson lying in the ambulance dead.”[17]

Another view showing the spot near which General McPherson died. Note the skulls of the dead horses at center left. 

Major George R. Steele of McPherson’s staff rode to General Sherman’s headquarters to notify the Ohioan that McPherson was dead. Lieutenant Colonel Strong shortly thereafter arrived with the ambulance. “Upon our arrival at General Sherman’s headquarters, which were still at the Howard House, the remains of General McPherson were removed to a vacant room and laid out upon a table and the wound which caused his death was carefully examined by Dr. Hewitt, one of the surgeons of the army. The ball unquestionably struck the General in the back and ranged diagonally forward, coming out at the left breast and passing near the heart, but I think Dr. Hewitt expressed the opinion that he might have lived some minutes. By the direction of General Sherman, the remains were placed in an ambulance and sent to Marietta en route for Clyde, Ohio in charge of the General’s personal staff- Major Willard, and Captains Gile and Steele.”[18]

In a grisly coda, Brigadier General Walter Q. Gresham, who had been severely wounded in the fighting on July 21^st, met the remains of his beloved army commander at a lonely little railway station behind the lines. “I was carried down the road to a little railway station where the train was to come along and take me to the hospital. I was in terrible agony and the stretcher on which I was resting was placed on the platform right out in the broiling sun. I think I must have remained there for several hours. Finally, a guard of our troops brought a wooden coffin and placed it beside my stretcher. I observed that the officer in charge of the guard was a member of General McPherson’s personal staff. I knew the box contained a dead body and I asked the officer in charge the name of the dead soldier. “It is all that is left of McPherson,” he responded sadly. “I could hardly believe that such a thing could be, for I left him on the field but a few hours previous, evidently in perfect health and confident of ultimate victory. It was a terrible shock to me to have the dead body of my dead friend and comrade thus brought to me. I thought I would go wild with anguish and the pain from my wounds increased with the excitement under which I was laboring.”[19]

One of the two Model 1851 Colt Navy .36 caliber revolvers that General McPherson was carrying when he was killed July 22, 1864. Corporal Robert H. Barton discovered McPherson's wounded horse within Union lines with the revolvers still resting in the holsters attached to the saddle. The revolver is now on display at the Clyde Museum in Clyde, Ohio, just a few blocks away from where the Ohioan grew up. (Photo courtesy of Gene Smith)

So, what happened to General McPherson’s effects? To make it short, except for some whiskey, everything McPherson had on his person returned to Federal hands during July 22^nd or immediately thereafter. McPherson’s horse, his favorite black charger upon which “McPherson had almost come to feel that the horse and rider bore charmed lives” was wounded and scampered back to Federal lines where Private Martin Steele of the 30^th Illinois recovered it. He was soon joined by Corporal Robert H. Barton of the 1^st Ohio Cavalry. “In a short time, we saw the General’s horse- a large black- dashing back from the front. We caught him and found that he had been shot in the neck and hip, but we did not know the fate of McPherson. The General’s holsters, with a pistol in each, were still on the saddle. The holsters had a silver plate on which was inscribed ‘To Gen. Jas. B. McPherson, by his many R.R. friends.’ We started to headquarters with the horse when we met General John A. Logan to whom we reported what we knew about where the General was when the volley was fired which wounded the horse and which we soon ascertained had killed the General.” The horse was eventually sent to McPherson’s family in Ohio.[20]

General McPherson was gunned down near the western edge of the crescent shaped woods labeled "C."

    George Sherland, upon returning to the 64^th Illinois, found that the men of his regiment had reacquired a number of McPherson’s personal items from Confederate prisoners taken that afternoon. “Since returning to the regiment, I have ascertained that part of the Rebels who took General McPherson’s watch, marine glass, and papers, were recaptured by William Axtell, a member of the same company I belong to. The papers and marine glass were also taken and turned over to Brigadier General [John W.] Fuller, commanding the division, and no doubt will be sent to his friends in due time. I was also informed today that his hat and belt were recaptured. The watch I cannot hear anything about at present. The remaining articles secured were taken over to Lieutenant Colonel [William E.] Strong of the staff.”[21]

The truly critical item, and the one that gave Sherman much cause for worry, was a private note he had addressed to General McPherson that very morning which laid out his immediate plans for the army. If this document fell into the wrong hands, it could mean disaster for Sherman’s army, just as Lee’s lost field order nearly led to his destruction at Antietam. Fortunately, General John W. Fuller’s men recovered the letter from a Rebel soldier and no harm was done.

General McPherson’s body, escorted by members of his personal staff, was sent north from Marietta the following day and arrived in his hometown of Clyde, Ohio where he was given a large public funeral. James B. McPherson, the highest-ranking Union General killed during the Civil War, rests in a grave across the street from his boyhood home.

Display case of General McPherson's personal items at the Clyde Museum including his revolver, sword, and belt buckle. Colonel Strong wrote that General McPherson was not carrying his sword on the day he was killed, but the revolver and belt buckle were there. (Photo courtesy of Gene Smith)

 

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[1] “Major General McPherson,” Army & Navy Journal, July 30, 1864, pg. 809

[2] Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong, Military Essays and Recollections, Volume I. Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co., 1891, pg. 341

[3] Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong, Chicago Tribune (Illinois), August 12, 1864, pg. 2

[4] Private Andrew J. Thompson, 4^th Independent Co., Ohio Cavalry, “McPherson’s Death,” National Tribune, July 23, 1885, pg. 3

[5] Lieutenant W.W. Allen, Signal Corps, “Death of Gen. McPherson,” National Tribune, September 4, 1902, pg. 6

[6] Private Andrew J. Thompson, 4^th Independent Co., Ohio Cavalry, “McPherson’s Death,” National Tribune, July 23, 1885, pg. 3

[7] Acting Sergeant Major James H. Mathis, 17-18^th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted,) Recollections of the Boys in Gray, 1861-1865, pg. 474

[8] Private Robert D. Compton, Co. I, 24^th-25^th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted), “McPherson’s Death,” Weekly Public Ledger (Tennessee), January 4, 1881, pg. 4 (originally published in New Orleans Picayune, May 29, 1876 and republished in Philadelphia Times)

[9] Captain Richard Beard, Co. E, 5^th Confederate Infantry. “McPherson’s Death,” National Tribune, July 28, 1892, pg. 4

[10] Corporal Robert F. Coleman, Co. E, 5^th Confederate Infantry. “Incidents of Gen. McPherson’s Death,” Confederate Veteran, March 1903, pg. 118

[11] Private George J. Reynolds, Co. D, 15^th Iowa Infantry. “Gen. McPherson’s Death: What Private Reynolds Says About It,” National Tribune, October 1, 1881, pg. 1

[12] Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong, Military Essays and Recollections, Volume I. Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co., 1891, pgs. 331-332

[13] Private George J. Reynolds, Co. D, 15^th Iowa Infantry. “Gen. McPherson’s Death: What Private Reynolds Says About It,” National Tribune, October 1, 1881, pg. 1

[14] Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong, Military Essays and Recollections, Volume I. Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co., 1891, pgs. 326-327

[15] Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong, Military Essays and Recollections, Volume I. Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co., 1891, pg. 327

[16] Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong, Military Essays and Recollections, Volume I. Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co., 1891, pg. 328

[17] Private William P. Brown, Co. A, 30^th Illinois Infantry. “Gen. McPherson’s Death,” National Tribune, December 5, 1895, pg. 3

[18] Lieutenant Colonel William E. Strong, Military Essays and Recollections, Volume I. Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co., 1891, pg. 334

[19] “The Death of McPherson: A Story Told by Secretary Gresham,” Poughkeepsie Eagle-News (New York), June 13, 1895, pg. 7

[20] Corporal Robert H. Barton, Co. B, 1^st Ohio Cavalry. “McPherson’s Death,” National Tribune, September 10, 1885, pg. 3

[21] Private George Sherland, Co. B, 64^th Illinois Infantry. “The Death of General McPherson,” Cleveland Morning Leader (Ohio), August 10, 1864, pg. 3