A Close Call

[Andy Cardinal]

Stonewall Jackson at Antietam
by Mort Kunstler
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Captain Henry Lord Page King served as an aide to Lafayette McLaws during the Maryland Campaign. His father was originally from Massachusetts and his mother from South Carolina. H. L. P. King grew up at "Retreat," a large plantation on St. Simons Island in Georgia. He graduated from Yale in 1852, then studied at Harvard Law School. He read law in New York City in 1860, but had returned home by the end of the year. An ardent secessionist, King was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant in the 10th Georgia on March 16, 1861. McLaws was the regiment's colonel. He began serving on McLaws's staff that September.

King wrote the following of the battle on September 17:

Reached near Sharpsburg about 41/2 or 5 -- the battle began as soon as light enough. Anderson's division partly with Longstreet. We at first as reserve. Witnessed the battle from a hill -- extended firing over a long semicircular line around Sharpsburg. Rode around to hospitals -- wounded coming in. Met Gen. Ripley wounded. Order came to move to the front & left to Jackson! Marched nearly a mile. Met Gen. Jackson & he & Gen. McLaws had a conference. Shell fell at our feet, wounding one of Gen's couriers -- did not explode or it would have killed both Gens.

This is an interesting "what if," as the death of McLaws and especially Jackson at Sharpsburg might have had a major impact on not only the battle that day, but on the future of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Source: Excerpts of King's diary can be found in Civil War Regiments, volume 6, No. 2: "The Maryland Campaign of 1862 and its Aftermath"

 

[ErnieMac]

Neither McLaws nor Jackson mentioned the incident in their reports (not really surprising) but McLaws did mention King in his after action write-up. He made the following statement:

"To Captain King and Lieutenant Tucker, aides-de-camp, and Captain Costin, signal officer; Lieutenant Campbell, of the Engineers, and Lieutenant Edwards, ordnance officer, I am indebted for their zeal and activity; their gallantry was conspicuous in the performance of their duties."​

Antietam: MGen Lafayette McLaws' Official Reports

antietam.aotw.org

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Serving on McLaws staff was no sinecure. Unfortunately Captain King would soon learn that. Three months later after the Battle of Fredericksburg, McLaws would right in his Official Report:

"My aide-de-camp, Captain H. L. P. King, was killed on Marye's Hill, pierced with five balls, while conveying an order to Brigadier-General Cobb. He was a brave and accomplished officer and gentleman, and had already distinguished himself during the operations in front of Fredericksburg, as he had done in all the other engagements when on duty."​

War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0582 OPERATIONS IN N. VA.,W. VA.,MD.,AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY

ehistory.osu.edu

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Tradition has it that Henry King's body found by his personal servant, a man named Neptune Small, and was returned to Georgia. He was initially buried in Savannah before being returned to the family's plantation on St. Simon Island.

CPT Henry Lord Page “Lordy” King (1831-1862) -...

Lordy was the son of the Honorable Thomas Butler King and Anna Matilda Page King. He attended Yale and Harvard Law School, and was a lawyer in Savannah for several years before the Civil War and witnessed the fall of Harper's Ferry. He was the aide-de-camp of Major General Lafayette McLaws, who...

www.findagrave.com

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