Saving Major McCook: William Surles at Perryville

The Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, was raging when the life of Major Anson G. McCook of the 2nd Ohio Infantry was saved by the daring act of a 17-year-old private in Co. G named William Surles. As Surles, “a mere boy, weighing less than a hundred pounds and of almost girlish appearance,” remembered it, it was a spur of the moment decision.

          “A Confederate soldier, a veritable giant in appearance, presently sprang from behind a tree close by and took deliberate aim at McCook,” recalled Surles. “I had observed this fellow’s movements and realized the great danger of my beloved commander. My blood froze in my veins as I saw the Rebel raise his gun and take aim at our brave leader. Presently, on the spur of the moment and moved by the love and admiration I felt toward our commander, I sprang directly in front of Colonel McCook, ready to receive the bullet which was to strike him.”

          That leap, combined with a timely shot from of Surles’s comrades that dispatched the Confederate, saved McCook’s life. McCook embraced Surles, and never forgot the act, one that Surles deemed as an act of love for his idolized commander. “I’m sure everyone in the regiment would have willingly sacrificed his life as I was willing to do,” he said.

It was through Colonel McCook’s efforts (McCook was then Secretary of the U.S. Senate after having served three terms in Congress) that Surles was presented the Medal of Honor on August 13, 1891, by Secretary of War Proctor Redfield. William Surles recalled the event in a story he shared for the 1901 book Deeds of Valor which is shared below.

 

Major Anson McCook's horse had been shot under him during the early stages of the 2nd Ohio's fight at Perryville. The plucky Ohioan grabbed a musket and fought in the ranks with his men which set the stage for Private William Surles' noble act. (Deeds of Valor)

          “Although General Buell with a large force was within sound of our guns, he did not come to our assistance and we were forced to fall back. During the retreat, Colonel Anson McCook’s horse was shot from under him. Arming himself with a musket taken from a dead soldier, he fought on foot and by his own gallant example, cheered the dropping spirits of his men. The ground we traversed was thickly strewn with the dead and wounded of our own army and presented a ghastly picture.

          We observed with horror that our pursuers, with the cruelty of barbarians, were plunging their bayonets into the prostrate forms of many of our comrades. Colonel McCook himself noticed one of the ghouls just about to extinguish the life of one of our boys with his bayonet. The colonel halted, fired his musket, and dropped the fellow before he could accomplish his dastardly deed.

Private William H. Surles
Co. G, 2nd O.V.I.
Medal of Honor

          The death of the Rebel made the enemy more furious. A Confederate soldier, a veritable giant in appearance, presently sprang from behind a tree close by and took deliberate aim at the colonel. I had observed this fellow’s movements and realized the great danger of my beloved commander. How I wish I could with a well-directed shot end this Johnny’s life. But like the colonel himself, I had just fired my musket and did not have time to intercept the shot.

          My blood froze in my veins as I saw the Rebel raise his gun and take aim at our brave leader. Presently, on the spur of the moment and moved by the love and admiration I felt toward our commander, I sprang directly in front of Colonel McCook, ready to receive the bullet which was to strike him. Happily, the Rebel giant was a little too slow in firing or hesitated to make sure of his shot. Before he pulled the trigger, he himself was shot through the head and rolled on the ground to die within a few seconds. One of the crack shots of our company frustrated his plans.

          All of this happened while shot and shell were flying around us like hail and within less time than it takes to tell it. I should not forget to mention the conclusion of the episode for it made me the happiest man in our regiment and has ever been one of the proudest moments of my life.

          When Colonel McCook saw this would-be assassin fall, he took me in his arms and with tears in his eyes kissed me as a father would his son. We all fairly idolized our commander and I’m sure everyone in the regiment would have willingly sacrificed his life as I was willing to do. I suppose the fact that at the time I was a mere boy, weighing less than a hundred pounds and of almost girlish appearance while the Rebel was such a big, burly man made the incident a trifle more prominent than it, perhaps, otherwise would have been.

 

Colonel Anson G. McCook, took command of the 2nd Ohio after the loss of Colonel John Kell during the Battle of Stones River. McCook would lead the regiment for the rest of the war, then command the 194th Ohio in 1865 and was given a brevet to brigadier general. After the war, McCook lived in New York, served three terms in Congress, and as Secretary to the U.S. Senate. A native of Steubenville like William Surles, McCook died in New York in 1917 but his remains were interred in his birthplace. 

          In addition to Perryville, William Surles fought with great distinction in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. At the battle of Chickamauga, he and an older brother were fighting side by side. Both were giving a good account of themselves and paying back the enemy shot for shot when the older brother Alexander was struck by a bullet, fell, and died before William could grasp him in his arms or bid him a last farewell.

          A native of Steubenville, Ohio, Private Surles lived and worked in East Liverpool for the rest of his life, later serving as G.A.R. Department of Ohio commander in 1916. He died March 19, 1919, and is buried at Riverview Cemetery in East Liverpool.

Source:

Beyer, Walter F., and Oscar F. Keydel. Deeds of Valor: How America’s Heroes Won the Medal of Honor. Detroit: The Perrien-Keydel Co., 1901, pgs. 94-96

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