'Boys, we're driving them': For Memorial Day, the Picket asked for individual stories of the Civil War fallen. Here are eight compelling accounts

Flags in the cemetery at Antietam battlefield in Maryland (NPS photo)

The roots of Memorial Day go back to immediately after the Civil War, when it was known as “Decoration Day.” Families and veterans would lay flowers at graves of those who died while serving the U.S. armed forces. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan and the Grand Army of the Republic were major proponents.

The Civil War Picket asked several people we’ve interviewed or communicated with over the years to name one person killed in action or while on duty during the Civil War, and why their memory is personally meaningful. We start each of the following entries with the name of those who died and end with the name of the contributor. Some responses have been edited.

We began this feature last year, and I really appreciate those who have responded. They help ensure their soldier or sailor is remembered.

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Capt. William W. Hutchinson, 103^rd Ohio Infantry

In mid-May 1864, The 2nd Brigade (Mahlon Manson, XXIII Corps) of which the 103rd Ohio Infantry belonged, overran the first line of Confederate works at Resaca and drove them to their main line. The attack was deadly from the start. Capt. Hutchinson, who commanded the 103rd that day, along with Capt. John T. Philpot we're killed in the advance. Also, all of the color guard we're shot down: two killed, seven wounded.

I believe their sense of duty pushed them to do the extraordinary. You read these accounts of these men (on both sides) who had a seemingly impossible task before them and would just drive forward. I never stop being amazed by reading their first-hand accounts. It was reported his last words were "Boys, we’re driving them," after he received his mortal wound.

TONY PATTON, board member with the Friends of Resaca Battlefield and an employee at Resaca Battlefield Historic Site in north Georgia.

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Lt. Col. Henry Pearson, 6th New Hampshire

One of the highlights of my Civil War adventurizing came on a sweltering day in 2016 at the grave of Henry Pearson in the beautiful Fredericksburg (Va.) National Cemetery on Marye’s Heights. I had with me a tintype of Pearson in his officer’s uniform, clutching a sword. He was a remarkable young man, 24, a lieutenant colonel well-liked by his soldiers. (Photo in John Banks' collection)

A sharpshooter’s bullet crashed into Pearson’s head, killing him, at North Anna River on May 26, 1864. Comrades placed his body in a large, wooden box and hastily buried him on the eastern bank of the North Anna. They carved his name on a crude, wooden marker and “left him alone in his glory."

Pearson’s comrades left quickly because the Army of the Potomac was on the move. After the war, the U.S. Army recovered Pearson’s body for reburial in the national cemetery. Before I part with the image of Pearson, I’d like to visit the spot where he suffered his mortal wound. I’m told it is (on) private property and remote.

JOHN BANKS, Civil War blogger, podcast co-host and author of “A Civil War Road Trip of a Lifetime: Antietam, Gettysburg and Beyond”

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Tom Parson with the artillery piece he describes below (NPS photo)

Pvt. Daniel Murray, Company C, 1^st U.S. Infantry

Daniel, an immigrant from Ireland enlisted in the regular army in 1859. On the morning of October 4, 1862, in Corinth, Ms., he and three other men from his company captured a 3.8" James rifle from the Confederates, a piece that had been captured from the Union at the Battle of Shiloh. Pvt. Murray was killed in action a few hours later during the Confederate attacks on Battery Robinett. The cannon is on permanent display at the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, a unit of Shiloh National Military Park

TOM PARSON, ranger at Shiloh National Military Park

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Col. Willard G. Eaton, 13^th Michigan

As a student of Sherman’s 1865 Carolinas campaign, the bravery of the men willing to give the ultimate sacrifice so late in the war has always amazed me. One example that comes to mind is Col. Willard Eaton of the 13^th Michigan. He enlisted as a first lieutenant in October 1861. He distinguished himself as a capable leader, loved by the men with whom he served. At the time of his death, he was the acting colonel of the regiment though a major in rank.

On March 19, 1865 -- the first day of the battle of Bentonville in North Carolina --  U.S. Army forces encountered heavy resistance as they advanced within 25 miles the vital rail hub of Goldsboro. 

An ammunition box lid reportedly was used as marker for Eaton

Unaware that C.S. commander Joseph E. Johnston’s whole army was in front of them, 1^st Division, XIV Corps commander William P. Carlin ordered a probing attack in hopes to find and turn the Confederate right flank. Eaton’s 13^th Michigan was in the middle of three regiments selected for this movement. They advanced across an open field to within approximately 50 yards of the Army of Tennessee contingent, which was reinforcing its concealed position in a pine wood. Pvt. John Daniels of the 13^th Michigan recalled, “Our regiment charged…within about 5 rods of the enemy when our Major was killed and our color bearer wounded.”

After the battle, Eaton’s men returned to find his body. They found him stripped of everything but his undergarments and lying in a mass grave. They fashioned a headstone for him out of the lid of an ammunition box and buried him near where he fell. Though seemingly inconsequential to the outcome of the battle, his leadership in the probing attack proved vital both in determining the presence of a large Confederate force and in foiling the original Confederate plan of attack. This caused a delay which allowed vital U.S. reinforcements to rush into position, preventing the left wing from being routed.

CHAD JEFFERDS, assistant site manager at North Carolina’s Fort Fisher State Historic Site and former historic interpreter/programs coordinator at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site.

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John Clark Ely

I want to remember Lt. John Clark Ely, who was with the 115th Ohio Infantry. He was captured near Nashville in early December 1864.  He had a wife and for young children back in Ohio. He kept a diary and often wrote about missing his family and how he longed to be with them again. On Christmas day of 1864, as he is being led toward Andersonville, he wrote: "I wonder if next Christmas will again find me among friends and family." He survived Andersonville and was taken to the parole camp outside of Vicksburg. On April 24, 1865, he boarded the Sultana that he described as a "large but not very nice boat."  On April 26, the entry in his diary read, "Still going up the river."  This was his last entry. In the aftermath of the explosion and burning of the Sultana, the body of John Clark Ely was identified by his diary. Lt. Ely never made it back to his family and friends. His final resting place is the Memphis National Cemetery. 

JERRY POTTER, Sultana expert and author of “The Sultana Tragedy: America’s Greatest Maritime Disaster”

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Sgt. William Anderson, Company I, 46^th U.S. Colored Troops

On May 18, 1864, a white Vicksburg citizen named John Bobb threw a "brick or stone" at Sgt. Anderson while the soldier was marching a picket detail back to camp through Bobb’s property. The citizen was shot and killed by Sgt. Anderson. The U.S. Army charged Anderson with murder but the July 1 court-martial proceedings resulted in a verdict of not guilty. The thrown object caused Anderson to suffer from a skull fracture. He received treatment at Vicksburg and returned to "light duty." He died on Aug. 26, 1864, at the Milliken's Bend hospital, with a military saying he died of apoplexy.

Affidavit written by Anderson's commander (click to enlarge)

But his commanding officer wrote an affidavit, in 1868, declaring the skull fracture as the cause of his death. Sgt. Anderson was 20 years old and left behind a widow, Sally, and a newborn daughter, Anna. The widow and child received pension benefits. The incident was and still is used to create a false narrative of unruly USCT soldiers (some accounts said the soldiers were inebriated or picking flowers at the home). Anderson’s death on the home front during Vicksburg's military occupation represents the daily racial violence USCT soldiers faced fighting for their freedom and equality. 

BETH KRUSE, Ph.D., Mellon Fellows scholar at Vicksburg National Military Park

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Cpl. Peter Gottlieb Nicholas Kuhn, Company K, 151^st New York

What strikes me about Peter Kuhn is two things; he was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1826 and immigrated to the United States in 1855. He married later that year and had three children before the Civil War. He was an immigrant, older and had a family, yet he chose to enlist in September 1862. 

Peter was apparently a good soldier and was promoted to corporal in November 1862. He was noted for taking up the national flag when the color bearer of the 151^st New York was cut down at the Battle of Locust Grove on November 26, 1863, bearing the colors through the rest of the battle. He continued to serve until the regiment's costliest battle at Monocacy in Maryland. 

Killed in action at Monocacy, Peter Kuhn was first listed in wounded and missing. His wife Maria put in for a survivor's pension, which was granted on September 15, 1865.

MATT BORDERS, park ranger at Monocacy National Battlefield

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John Pelham, artillery and cavalry soldier

Every March 17, while Irish-Americans are celebrating St. Patrick's Day, I reread a bit on why General Lee remarked, while watching him serve his guns at Fredericksburg, that it was marvelous to see courage in one so young.

I once made a pilgrimage to east-central Alabama to visit his grave and pay my respects. (The Confederate soldier was killed March 17, 1863, in the Battle of Kelly’s Ford in Virginia)

STEVE DAVIS, Civil War historian and author