Twilight was Lurid with the Fire of Battle: Sergeant Richey Captures a Confederate Major

In the early twilight hours of September 19, 1863, at Chickamauga, Sergeant William Richey of the 15th Ohio was dispatched between the lines to try and ascertain the location of the Confederates.

“Presently I saw an officer on horseback approaching me from the right only a short distance from me,” he later wrote. “We were no sooner side by side than I discovered that we were enemies. As quickly as I could, I said to the man on horseback in a loud, bold tone, “You are my prisoner! Surrender, or I will blow out your brains!” Instantly the officer reached for his pistol but, pointing my weapon at him, I repeated my demand with increased determination and ordered him to dismount. He complied and became my prisoner.”

For this act, Sergeant Richey would be awarded the Medal of Honor in 1893. He explains the story of his regiment on the first day of Chickamauga in this harrowing account published in Walter Beyer and Oscar Keydel’s 1901 tome Deeds of Valor: How America’s Heroes Won the Medal of Honor.

 

Sergeant William Richey of the 15th Ohio is shown capturing an unknown Confederate major on the evening of September 19, 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga. Richey himself narrowly escaped capture nine months before in the opening moments of the Battle of Stones River.
(Deeds of Valor)

          At the beginning of the Battle of Chickamauga, General Richard W. Johnson’s division was ordered to support General Thomas, whose corps constituted the left of the Union line of battle. The march of Johnson’s men to the position of Thomas was a rapid one; the men going almost on a run, their stops being quickened by the sound of artillery and small arms as the battle had just begun on the left.

          Johnson’s men had been marching over mountains, hills, and valleys for more than a month and now, weary, foot-sore, and covered with dust, they were hastening to the scene of conflict on the banks of the historic Chickamauga. The division went into battle about noon September 19, 1863, near Kelly’s farm, facing toward the east with Willich’s brigade constituting the right of the division.

          Advancing through the woods, the division soon became engaged and furiously assaulting the enemy’s line, drove the Rebels about a mile and captured five pieces of artillery which had been doing much damage. [The identity of which battery these captured pieces, later described as three 10-pdr Parrott rifles and two 12-pdr Napoleons, belonged to is open to question- ed. note] The division continued to drive the enemy until Willich’s brigade halted near a small field. The division had advanced so far that there was no connection or support on either the right or left. Firing had ceased and the enemy disappeared. It was now late in the afternoon. However, a little before dark, the Rebels, largely reinforced, made another furious attack on Johnson’s division, which met a determined resistance. The air was rent with cannon balls, shells, canister, grape, and bullets and the twilight was lurid with the fire of battle.

          This terrible conflict had the effect of throwing the regiments of Willich’s brigade into one solid line, sending death and disorder into the Confederate ranks where firing soon ceased. For a while then there was a lull in the battle. At this time, I was sent to the front with a party of comrades to observe the enemy and learn, if possible, the exact situation on our front.

          Subsequently, I advanced and was soon between the lines of battle of the two armies. Presently I saw an officer on horseback approaching me from the right only a short distance from me. We were no sooner side by side than I discovered that we were enemies. As quickly as I could, I said to the man on horseback in a loud, bold tone, “You are my prisoner! Surrender, or I will blow out your brains!”

          Instantly the officer reached for his pistol but, pointing my weapon at him, I repeated my demand with increased determination and ordered him to dismount. He complied and became my prisoner. He was a Rebel major who had been endeavoring to arrange the Confederate lines of battle. While doing so, he had ridden outside of his lines and come in contact with me, supposing his men to be on the ground which his captor occupied.

 

Colors of the 15th Ohio in the early 1880s. 

          It is unfortunate that we do not know who this Rebel major was; likely he belonged to General Patrick Cleburne’s division as that division was actively engaged against Johnson’s division in the early evening hours of September 19, 1863. Regardless, Sergeant Richey’s deed earned him immediate praise from his commander, but it wasn’t until November 9, 1893, when Richey was a resident of Harveyville, Kansas that he was awarded the Medal of Honor. As reported in the Alma Enterprise in 1899, “the government also presented him with a button-hole rosette and sends him every year a beautiful silk ribbon to be worn with the Medal of Honor.”

          Sergeant Richey passed away at his home southwest of Harveyville, Kansas, on June 21, 1909, aged 68 years. After completing his four years’ service with the 15th Ohio, Richey married Margaret J. Miller in 1868 and had two daughters, Mary and Anna. They settled north of Burlingame, Kansas in 1868 before relocating to their farm near Harveyville around 1875. “While living here, Mr. Richey united with the Presbyterians and never changed his profession of faith,” his obituary stated. “He has been an invalid for some time. His wife and two daughters survive him.”

         

Pvt. Hugh Thompson
Co. H, 15th O.V.I. 

I recently learned of an interesting sidebar to Sergeant Richey’s experiences at Chickamauga from a friend of the blog named Harry Frech. The remarkable story of Hugh Thompson of Co. H, 15th Ohio ought to be made into a book. During the afternoon engagement, Thompson was struck in the head by a spent canister ball and stunned but recovered in a short time. During the evening engagement, he was wounded again and captured when the Confederates moved into the area.

The impact of the head injury was such that Thompson essentially forgot who he was for 8 years, coming to his senses after falling down a hill in Illinois in 1871. By then he was married and thought his name was Henry Thomson. It took more than 20 more years of searching before Hugh Thompson finally was reunited with his family back in Van Wert, Ohio. Thompson became known as the "Lost Soldier of Chickamauga." His pension file, topping more than 2,000 pages loaded with testimony from his comrades in the 15th Ohio attesting to his character and helping to explain his remarkable story, is the largest pension file in the National Archives and was featured in two articles in the National Archives News blog.

To learn more about the fight of Johnson’s division at Chickamauga, please check out this post:

Fearfully Grand: The 29th Indiana Survives Chickamauga

Sources:

“Captured a Confederate Major,” story of Sergeant William E. Richey, Co. A, 15th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 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. 266-267

“A Rare Honor,” The Alma Enterprise (Kansas), May 26, 1899, pg. 4

“Obituary- William E. Richey,” Osage County Chronicle (Kansas), June 24, 1909, pg. 4

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