GRAPHIC Dead soldier in Antietam photo possibly identified

AUG

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Antietam_Battle%2C_Bloody_Lane%2C_1862.jpg


A photograph of dead Confederate soldiers in the Sunken Road or "Bloody Lane" at Antietam, this is one of several images taken after the battle by Alexander Gardner.

It's thought that the bald-headed man lying in the center of the road (not immediately in front of the camera, but a bit farther down) could be Col. Charles C. Tew of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry.

Col. Charles C. Tew was shot in the head while standing next to then Col. John B. Gordon of the 6th Alabama. Gordon said in his memoirs that "The first volley from the Union lines in my front sent a ball through the brain of the chivalric Colonel Tew, of North Carolina, to whom I was talking to."

Capt. Matthew Manly of Company D, 2nd North Carolina, wrote: "During the battle in this bloody lane Colonel Charles Courtenay Tew was killed, his body falling into the hands of the enemy . . . . He was shot through the head and placed in the sunken road . . . Here he was found, apparently unconscious, the blood streaming from a wound in the head, with his sword held in both hands across his knees. A Federal soldier attempted to take the sword from him, but he drew it toward his body with his last remaining strength, and then his grasp relaxed and he fell forward, dead."

His body was never identified or recovered after the battle; he was probably buried in a mass grave alongside his men.

Col. Charles C. Tew.jpg

Quarter-plate ambrotype of Col. Charles C. Tew (Source).

Sunken Road map 1.jpg

This is a snippet from Civil War Trust's map, the Sunken Road, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Sunken Road map 2.jpg

This is right about where the photograph was taken and the direction it is facing in.

Here's the link to an excellent then-and-now analysis of the photo and where it was taken:
http://www.davevalvo.com/Landscapes...fields/10126743_DKrNvf#!i=696429130&k=JJ9W9fZ


 
There's so much death and carnage in this photograph it's hard to even seperate the men in black/white.
 
The man on the right is an enlisted soldier and not an officer... at least not a field grade. What makes you think it is Tew?

Relooked.... okay gotcha... maybe.
Yeah, not the soldier on the right lying against the side of the road, but this man, a little ways farther down from the camera.

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The only thing is I don't see any blood or marks on his head, but hard to tell for certain.
 
He would have to have a stretchy neck. See his right shoulder? It's directly in line with the rest of his rigid body. If he was leaned over like that his shoulder would be leaned over.
 
It sure looks like something took his head off. If you look close his jacket has been opened and from things in the bottom of the trench, looks like the men's pockets have been gone thru. If anyone thinks war is heroic they need to clean up something like that.
 
It sure looks like something took his head off. If you look close his jacket has been opened and from things in the bottom of the trench, looks like the men's pockets have been gone thru. If anyone thinks war is heroic they need to clean up something like that.
If that poor man did have his head taken off it was likely by an artillery round, possibly from Tompkin's Battery A, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery, which was pouring fire in the Sunken Road.
 
If that man did have his head taken off it was likely by an an artillery round, possibly from Tompkin's Battery A, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery, which was pouring fire in the Sunken Road.
I'm sure Tompkin's caused a ton of damage to the Rebels in Bloody lane, but I'm pretty sure they were under fire from artillery east of Antietam Creek as well. If I remember correctly their where Federal batteries near the Pry House, I've always wondered what effect they had.
 
This is a photo of dead Confederate soldiers in the sunken road or "bloody lane" at Antietam. The man laying to the right, not the man sitting against the right side of the road, but the man laying on his back with a bald head a few feet behind the man sitting against the side of the road on the right could be Col. Charles C. Tew of the 2nd North Carolina. Click the photo to zoom in

Charles Courtenay Tew

Residence Orange County NC; Enlisted as a Colonel (date unknown). On 6/20/1861 he was commissioned into Field & Staff NC 2nd Infantry He was Killed on 9/17/1862 at Sharpsburg, MD Other Information: born in South Carolina (Served as Commandant of Cadets at the Hillsboro Military Academy & as Commander of Fort Macon prior to appointment as Colonel) Sources used by Historical Data Systems, Inc.:

- North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster
(c) Historical Data Systems, Inc. @ www.civilwardata.com
Antietam_Battle%2C_Bloody_Lane%2C_1862.jpg


Col. Charles C. Tew was shot in the head while talking to Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon. John B. Gordon said in his memoirs "The first volley from the Union lines in my front sent a ball through the brain of the chivalric Colonel Tew, of North Carolina, to whom I was talking to."

Capt. Matthew Manly of Company D, 2nd North Carolina wrote "During the battle in this bloody lane Colonel Charles Courtenay Tew was killed, his body falling into the hands of the enemy . . . . He was shot through the head and placed in the sunken road . . . Here he was found, apparently unconscious, the blood streaming from a wound in the head, with his sword held in both hands across his knees. A Federal soldier attempted to take the sword from him, but he drew it toward his body with his last remaining strength, and then his grasp relaxed and he fell forward, dead."

Col. Charles C. Tew
Expired Image Removed

John B. Gordon was around the 6th Alabama during most of the fight when he was wounded 5 times. The 6th Alabama was right next to the 2nd North Carolina in the sunken road to the left.
Heres a great site that shows where several photos could have been taken, one being this photo, which shows that it was around the exact postion the 6th Alabama and 2nd North Carolina were at. http://www.davevalvo.com/Landscapes...fields/10126743_DKrNvf#!i=696429130&k=JJ9W9fZ
You can see their position in this map by Civil War TrustExpired Image Removed
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam/maps/antietam-map-sunken-road.html

Tew was born in Charleston, South Carolina to Henry Shade Tew and Caroline Courtenay. Tew's paternal ancestry was French Huguenot and his maternal grandfather was a native of Ireland.
Tew was one of twenty cadets initially admitted to the new South Carolina Military Academy 1843, now known as The Citadel. Tew graduated first in his class in 1846, becoming both the first graduate of the school and the first honor graduate. Upon graduation, he took a position as a professor at the school. He left The Citadel in 1852, when he spent a year in Europe studying military tactics. When he returned from Europe he was made Commandant of Cadets at The Citadel. 1857 Tew was appointed superintendent of the Arsenal Academy in Columbia, SC. He founded his own successful military academy, at Hillsborough, North Carolina in 1859 called the Hillsborough Military Academy.

When North Carolina seceded, the first two colonels appointed by Governor John Willis Elliswere Tew and D. H. Hill. Tew was commissioned to the 2nd North Carolina State Troops, which, during the Peninsula Campaign was attached to the brigade of Brig. Gen. George B. Andersonin the Army of Northern Virginia. Tew took part in the Peninsula Campaign, the Northern Virginia Campaign, and the Maryland Campaign. Tew was killed-in-action at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, while leading his regiment, the 2nd North Carolina State Troops.

During the mid-day portion of the Battle of Antietam at the Sunken Road, Tew took command of Anderson's brigade after Anderson fell mortally wounded. Tew and Col. John B. Gordon were talking at the position of the 6th Alabama in the Sunken Road (the famed Bloody Lane) at the center of the Confederate line when both were struck down. Gordon later wrote -
"The first volley from the Union lines in my front sent a ball through the brain of the chivalric Colonel Tew, of North Carolina, to whom I was talking, and another ball through the calf of my right leg. On the right and the left my men were falling under the death-dealing crossfire like trees in a hurricane...."​
Capt. Matthew Manly of Company D, 2nd North Carolina wrote -​
"During the battle in this bloody lane Colonel Charles Courtenay Tew was killed, his body falling into the hands of the enemy . . . . He was shot through the head and placed in the sunken road . . . Here he was found, apparently unconscious, the blood streaming from a wound in the head, with his sword held in both hands across his knees. A Federal soldier attempted to take the sword from him, but he drew it toward his body with his last remaining strength, and then his grasp relaxed and he fell forward, dead."​
Tew was shot through both temples, but evidently did not die immediately. His body was ostensibly pulled down into the Sunken Road after he was struck. When the Confederates were forced to retreat from the Sunken Road, Tew's body was not recovered, and was never identified or returned.

Many conflicting stories and rumors were spread concerning Tew's fate. A prominent one was that Tew was alive and a prisoner of war at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Torgugas. Tew's father went to Washington and received permission to visit the prison but he was unable to locate him. His place of burial remains unknown. In October 1874, a Union veteran, Capt. J. W. Bean, sent a silver cup, which had been taken from Tew's body, to Tew's father. Bean's letter also informed Tew's father that he had buried Tew on the field. Tew's sword (presented by the cadets of the South Carolina Military Academy and inscribed with his name) and his watch were never returned to his family.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_C._Tew
 
At the 2008 Civil War Trust Teacher Institute, a speaker named Jim Beeghley did a session on using technology to teach the war, and he utilized this photo and analysis (much like Wilber does). He said the guy--whose bald head is unattached to the body in the officer's uniform, BTW, HAD been identified by the guy's family after the war. I can't find my notes; just the seminar book--but I believe he said it was an officer from Louisiana...although it certainly could have been Tew...his engraving is certainly a spitting image, from the hairline!

And yes, it is headless. I've used this image in my classes and we blow it up on an entire wall (metaphorically, of course; unfortunately no artillery is allowed!) and analyze it all. 7th and 8th graders LOVE gruesome. They never forget this one.
 
Is this the same person listed among the dead at Shepherdstown in The Story of Camp Chase by William H. Knauss? If it is, I wonder why?

Tew, O., C, 2nd N.C.
Edit: No, it is not the same person. I answered my own question.
 
Don Troiani Art at the sunken road with General Lee depicting a scene with John B. Gordon. Gordon was up on the upper left of the road not the right wing. Looks like the unit in the artwork is the 11th Alabama considering the flag he drew. I just wonder why Troiani decided to use that flag in this picture. Call me silly, but things like this perplex me. Ambiguity I guess.
I found this one interesting because the flag in the picture looks to be the 11th Alabama flag that was captured by the 57th Penn, Brookes Brigade. The 11th, Wilcox brigade moved up to reinforce the right wing of the Sunken road. I don't think Lee would have been up there when they moved in the hot and heavy fighting. If not mistaken the sunken road was already falling when they moved up there, they were listed as only having 3 dead, 26 wounded so sounds like they went up and fell back rather fast.
p-troiani025.jpg



Here is the 11th Alabama Flag from civil war trust that was captured. There is also another one that is listed as 11th alabama that doesn't have the seven pines on it. Both are listed as being 11th alabama captured by 57th Inf. So, were they using two flags?
11th-alabama-battle-flag.jpg
the-11th-alabama-flag.jpg

Here is a drawing of the 11th alabama taking on an artillery unit at Glendale. The flag has the seven pines on it.
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Don Troiani Art at the sunken road with General Lee depicting a scene with John B. Gordon. Gordon was up on the upper left of the road not the right wing. Looks like the unit in the artwork is the 11th Alabama considering the flag he drew. I just wonder why Troiani decided to use that flag in this picture. Call me silly, but things like this perplex me. Ambiguity I guess.
I found this one interesting because the flag in the picture looks to be the 11th Alabama flag that was captured by the 57th Penn, Brookes Brigade. The 11th, Wilcox brigade moved up to reinforce the right wing of the Sunken road. I don't think Lee would have been up there when they moved in the hot and heavy fighting. If not mistaken the sunken road was already falling when they moved up there, they were listed as only having 3 dead, 26 wounded so sounds like they went up and fell back rather fast.
View attachment 14528


Here is the 11th Alabama Flag from civil war trust that was captured. There is also another one that is listed as 11th alabama that doesn't have the seven pines on it. Both are listed as being 11th alabama captured by 57th Inf. So, were they using two flags?
View attachment 14527View attachment 14529
Here is a drawing of the 11th alabama taking on an artillery unit at Glendale. The flag has the seven pines on it.
View attachment 14530

What happened to Lee's right arm?
 
What happened to Lee's right arm?

He'd been injured by Traveller. http://www.civilwarhome.com/leeshorses.htm

At the second battle of Manassas, while General Lee was at the front reconnoitering; dismounted and holding 'Traveller' by the bridle, the horse became frightened at some movement of the enemy and plunging pulled General Lee down on a stump, breaking both of his hands. The General went through the remainder of that campaign chiefly in an ambulance. When he rode on horseback, a courier rode in front leading his horse

I'm thinking Lee had the reins somehow looped around his arm and sort of blamed himself for the accident. Horsemen know better...horses are unpredictable creatures....but he wouldn't be the first. :smile:
 
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