Meeting the Flower of the Southern Army: The 2nd Delaware at Antietam

Second Lieutenant H. Charles Lynch of the 2nd Delaware took understandable pride in recounting to his parents how his regiment fought at the Battle of Antietam. 

    "Our division met the flower of the Southern army and we whipped them badly," he noted. "The Irish brigade and our brigade were fighting against General Jackson’s best men. "I came through safe (thanks be to God) but not so with our company. We went into the fight with 23 men and came off with 17. None were killed, however, that I know of but we had five wounded and one missing. I have hopes that the missing one will turn up yet. My men fought well and I feel proud of them. I thought that I would never be able to stand fire, but I soon found out differently for I was as cool and could be through the whole engagement and never thought once of being shot or backing off the field." 

    Lieutenant Lynch's account, written just three days after the battle, first saw publication in the October 1, 1862, edition of Blue Hen's Chicken & Commonwealth, a newspaper published in Wilmington, Delaware. 

A view from the Sunken Lane looking out into the fields over which Lieutenant Charles Lynch and his comrades in the 2nd Delaware charged on September 17, 1862. The 2nd Delaware, part of Colonel John R. Brooke's Third Brigade of General Israel Richardson's division of the 2nd Corps, advanced in the wake of the Irish Brigade's attack between 11 am and noon, eventually crossing over the Sunken Road into the Piper cornfield south of the road, helping to fend off a Confederate counterattack. 

Near Sharpsburg, Maryland

September 20, 1862

My dear parents,

          I take this opportunity to inform you of my whereabouts and welfare. I am well and sound, thank God. The last four days have been eventful ones to me. I have been into the fight and come out of it. Our division met the flower of the Southern army and we whipped them badly. The Irish brigade and our brigade were fighting against General Jackson’s best men. I will give you the particulars as near as I can.

          On last Saturday afternoon we marched into Frederick, Maryland and on Sunday morning started in pursuit of the enemy. We came up with them on Monday afternoon and engaged them with artillery. Tuesday was taken up principally with planning and maneuvering troops on both sides. On Tuesday, we supported a battery of 20-lb Parrott guns all day under a very heavy fire. On Tuesday night our regiment was thrown in front on picket duty.

          Wednesday morning, we were drawn up in line of battle in a common field. The engagement was going on at this time pretty briskly. The Irish Brigade [see “Uncoffined and Unsung: An Irish Brigade Schoolteacher Survives the Hell of Antietam.”] was drawn up in line of battle just in front of our brigade and as a matter of course went into action first. They were not in the fight for over 20 minutes before they were broken by the concentrated fire of the enemy and their colors were left lying on the field. General Edwin Sumner’s aide came to General Richardson with the following message: “General, the Irish Brigade is broken and their colors were left lying on the field.”

General Israel B. Richardson
Died of wounds from Antietam

          This was ominous intelligence for our brigade and we were ordered forward. We went out on the field and charged on it, taking some 160 prisoners, and driving the enemy clear off the field. From the time our regiment fired the first volley, they kept up an incessant firing which caused us to march straight through the ranks of the famous “Irish Battalion” of the South which had not 15 minutes before broken the Irish Brigade. Our regiment went in advance of the rest of the brigade and kept the lead all the time. The men fought like tigers and not one was shot in the back. We had no cowards with us and taking everything into consideration, our loss was very trifling as 83 will cover the whole list of killed, wounded, and missing.

          I came through safe (thanks be to God) but not so with our company. We went into the fight with 23 men and came off with 17. None were killed, however, that I know of but we had five wounded and one missing. I have hopes that the missing one will turn up yet. My men fought well and I feel proud of them. I thought that I would never be able to stand fire, but I soon found out differently for I was as cool and could be through the whole engagement and never thought once of being shot or backing off the field.

          All the officers that were on the field conducted themselves most gallantly and the men think there is nobody like them. Our general gave us great praise and altogether, we are quite lionized by those who saw the action of the regiment. At one time we were so far in advance of the regular line that we came near being outflanked by the enemy and for a short time we sustained quite a severe crossfire. Fortunately for us there was another regiment in the rear of us and they fired into the Rebels and saved us considerably.

          After staying on the field for nearly 90 minutes, we were brought to a right face and marched off in good order. We marched to the rear and filled our cartridge boxes with cartridges and were sent to the front again and kept there the rest of the day. There was no more musketry firing during the day and we were put to support a battery and laid their the balance of the day under a galling fire of musketry. On Wednesday night we were put on picket duty and on Thursday were sent to the front again, staying there till the enemy skedaddled in great disorder.

 

“Our regiment being more bloodthirsty than the other regiments of our line let out a yell, driving the Rebels pell-mell through the cornfield before them and dropping the skedaddling varmints as they flew. They had the advantage of us in every respect as they had stone fences and deep gullies to hide in. As we got them on the run, we kept them going until there was very few to be seen.” ~Captain Charles J. Smyth, Co. C, 2nd Delaware

 

          While the battle raged, it was most terrific as the dead and wounded strewed the ground very thickly, indeed. Our brigadier general had just been to our camp to see the colors. He said they went crazy on the day of the fight and he does not want them to get so wild again, but added, “I know where they were. They were in the thickest of the fight. They have covered themselves with glory.” Delaware may be proud of her regiments. The 1st Delaware was pretty badly cut up with three of their captains killed.

          We had only two officers wounded and they only slightly. All the field officers’ horses were shot from under them at the first fire. We found all the bodies of the killed of our regiment on the field except Orderly Sergeant Fox. He went on the field with the regiment and conducted himself nobly, but he did not come off with us. A great many men of the regiment say they have seen him since the fight and perhaps he may yet turn up. He may be a prisoner, but at all events, I hope he may yet turn up.

          Our brigade took 11 Rebel flags. I cannot find words to express my gratitude for my deliverance and must leave you to imagine my feelings. I do not wish to get into another engagement, but if it should be my misfortune to meet the enemy again in pitched battle, my conduct shall be as it has been. I did my duty and I am satisfied and you have assurances that I am no coward. I am tired of writing and will tell you all the particulars when I get home.

 To learn more about the Battle of Antietam, check out the Battle of Antietam page which includes all of the posts I've written on the subject. 

Sources:

Letter from Second Lieutenant H. Charles Lynch, Co. K, 2nd Delaware Volunteer Infantry, Blue Hen’s Chicken & Commonwealth (Delaware), October 1, 1862, pg. 2

Letter from Captain Charles J. Smyth, Co. C, 2nd Delaware Volunteer Infantry, Cecil Whig (Maryland), October 4, 1862, pg. 1

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on their way to
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true warrior, for then comes the harvest of gain.
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of how Confederate jacke
Read more

The Wizard of Oz and the Civil War

Image
T he 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has delighted viewers for 85 years and ranks as a personal favorite, especially during the Halloween season. While watching it with the family the other night, I wondered if there were any connections between the film and the Civil War. Not surprisingly, the answer is yes and those connections touch both the blue and the gray.           Interestingly both “witches” in the film not only had Civil War ancestors but had connections with Civil War soldiers from Ohio. Margaret Hamilton, the “Wicked Witch of the West,” was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, to attorney Walter Jones Hamilton and his wife Mary Jane Adams; Margaret’s grandfather was Judge Edwin Timothy Hamilton. Judge Hamilton had served as a private in Co. D of the 84 th Ohio Infantry during the summer of 1862. The 84 th Ohio, a three months’ regiment, served nearly the whole of its service attached to the Railroad District in western Maryland, performing provost duty at Cumberlan
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on securing all the Enfi
Read more

In front of Atlanta with the 68th Ohio

Image
  The arrow corps badge of the 17th Army Corps was worn by many members of the 68th Ohio in the latter days of the war.       Private Edward A. Bigelow of Co. F of the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote this brief account of the Battle of Atlanta just two days afterwards to his father back home in Henry County, Ohio. The regiment formed a part of Colonel Robert K. Scott's three regiment all-Ohio brigade consisting of the 20th, 68th, and 78th regiments, being designated the Second Brigade of the Third Division of Frank Blair's 17th Army Corps. Bigelow's letter originally appeared in the Napoleon Press newspaper and was copied in the Toledo Daily Commercial which was providential as no known copies exist today of the wartime Napoleon Press.  
Read more

Charging Battery Robinett: An Alabama Soldier Recalls the Vicious Fighting at Corinth

Image
W riting 30 years after the Battle of Corinth, James A. McKinstry of the 42 nd Alabama recalled his experiences storming Battery Robinett with Colonel William P. Rogers of the 2 nd Texas and expressed guilt that it was perhaps his action that brought about the colonel’s demise. “On seeing a line of Federals approaching, and before giving the situation a thought, I immediately raised my gun and fired full into the breast of a Federal sergeant, who was in front of the column, and only a short distance from us.  'Twas then that Captain George Foster shouted, "Cease firing, men! cease firing!" and waved his handkerchief, then I realized the true situation. 'Twas too late! That fatal volley had been turned on our little band from the muzzles of 1,500 muskets. I was still standing just as I was when I fired my last shot, and within a few feet of Colonel Rogers, when a Minie ball went crashing through my left hip and turned me half round; another went tearing through my
Read more

Federal Arms in the Stones River Campaign

Image
  T he following list, constructed after many years of research, lists unit by unit which type of weapons were carried by the Army of the Cumberland during the Stones River campaign. A number of sources were consulted including state ordnance reports, Federal quarterly ordnance reports (thank you Research Arsenal ), Ken Baumann’s Arming the Suckers, regimental histories and memoirs, captured ordnance reports, and consultation with knowledgeable experts in the field of firearms. Some of this information has been shared on the blog before in “ Rosy’s Heavy Metal: Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland ” or “ Shoulder Arms: How Sheridan’s and Davis’s Divisions Were Armed at Stones River ” but this is the first time the army as a whole has been presented. The overall conclusion I drew from looking at this data is that the Army of the Cumberland in December 1862 was an organization in the midst of transformation as far as arms. Many of the regiments still retained their original issue
Read more

Cook & Brother of New Orleans

Image
    The lockplate of a New Orleans-made Cook & Brother Enfield rifle produced in 1862 shows the fine craftsmanship that became the hallmark of the maker throughout the Civil War. Note the stars and bars flag at left, an emblem used on C&B's production throughout the war and the Cook & Brother, N.O. 1862 markings. Earlier production weapons at New Orleans had the flag located just above the maker's name while later weapons produced in Athens, Georgia would have a modified flag and Athens on the plate followed by the serial number.        In the spring of 1861, two English-born businessmen, Ferdinand and Francis Cook of New Orleans, perceived the need for the South to have its own domestic production of firearms and  set out to prove "that rifles could made here as well as in Yankee land or in Europe." The brothers  elected to produce copies of the British Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield rifle as this was considered the benchmark longarm at the outset of the
Read more

Revisiting Snodgrass Hill: Memories of a 21st Ohio Officer

Image
Captain Isaac Cusac, Co. G, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry proudly displaying his rank as captain in an image likely dating from early 1863. One of his shoulder straps was shot off in the final stages of the 21st Ohio's fight atop Snodgrass Hill on September 20, 1863. Cusac brought it back to Chickamauga 50 years later.  I n September 1913, 83-year-old Isaac Cusac, a retired Presbyterian minister from the little town of McComb, Ohio, returned to Chattanooga to attend the national G.A.R. encampment. The former captain of the 21 st Ohio returned to Snodgrass Hill on the old Chickamauga battlefield on the 50 th anniversary of the battle carrying with him a precious relic of his wartime experiences. “He carried with him there an epaulet that was shot from his shoulder at the battle,” it was reported. “The bullet clipped off the epaulet and then struck him on the left hand, injuring two fingers.”           The flood of memories as he walked the grounds must have been overwhelming. The f
Read more