GRAPHIC Help identify fallen Confederate - Spotsylvania

[ConfederateCanuck]

Hi folks.

These two pictures have had a hook in me since I first saw them:

Spoiler: Graphic Image

Spoiler: Graphic Image

(If anyone has better quality pictures, please feel free to post. I got them from the LOC website.)

I have been wondering for some time now if this unfortunate soldier was ever identified. Inspired by the following thread ( https://civilwartalk.com/threads/question-about-sharpsburg-casualty-photograph.169156/ ), I wondered if we could work together to try and identify this dead Confederate soldier.
I am an amateur at this. Many of the folks that contributed to the Sharpsburg Casualty thread seem to know what to do and have the right kind of information resources. Will you try to help me with this identification?

The titles of the two pictures are:
Scene of Ewell's attack, May 19, 1864, near Spottsylvania [i.e. Spotsylvania] Court House. Dead Confederate soldiers


Dead Confederate soldier as he lay on the field, after the battle of the 19th May, near Mrs. Allsop's, Pine Forest, 3 miles from Spottsylvania [i.e. Spotsylvania] Court House, Va.

First of all, has the soldier ever been identified? (I haven't seen anything online that would suggest he was). If not, I think we may have a decent shot at trying to identify him. From what I have read (and I am damned cuz I can't find the reference that I saw last night!), Ewell's casualties on May 16, 1864 during the "Harris Farm engagement" was about 900 total, of which 123 were killed (that's the reference I can't find at the moment). Since we know the units involved in the battle, and with only 123 possible names of the to sort through, I was hopeful we'd have some success in identifying the soldier.

I did manage to find this map, which should be very helpful in narrowing down the units that were engaged near the Alsop Farm.

Based on this, it seems likely that the soldier belonged to Gordon or Rhodes commands….but of course, where exactly the soldier was found on the battlefield would be important to know in order to identify which specific unit he belonged to….is there any way of determining that? In other threads there has been information presented on maps as to where certain photographs were taken….I am hoping such information exists.
The "pine forest" is a clue, and the picture shows a rail fence so it is likely at the edge of a property.

Is there anything about his clothing that can help identify his unit?

Are there any newspaper archives that would provide casualty lists for the May 19th​ battle?

Lots of questions, unfortunately not enough experience and resources for me to tap into…other than you folks that contribute to the Forums. I am going to page/PM the main contributors to the Sharpsburg Casualty thread to see if they can repeat what they did in that thread. Hopefully some other folks can contribute to this effort too!

 

[lelliott19]

@Woods-walker do you know if this unfortunate soldier has ever been ID'd? Also any input on a more precise location based on the photo?
He appears to be wounded in the upper chest/shoulder. If the image is reversed that wound was in the upper left chest/shoulder. Image from negative; downloaded as a TIFF. EDIT TO ADD: As James N. has kindly pointed out, the image is NOT reversed so the wound appears to be in the right chest/shoulder.

 

[Andy Cardinal]

Are there any distinguishimg marks on his uniform that would help identify at least what state he was from? Others on this forum are experts at that sort of thing and unfortunately I am not.....

 

[lelliott19]

Clearer image from negative. @Package4 @ucvrelics what kind of belt plate is he wearing?

Anything recognizable about the buttons?

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

lelliot19...you are a pro! nice job spotting the buildings. The Alsop farm house is still preserved today I think....lemme check....

 

[Viper21]

He appears to be wounded in the upper chest/shoulder. If the image is reversed that wound was in the upper left chest/shoulder.

I agree. The leg wound is pretty clear. I think you're right about the chest wound too. Makes sense seeing the jacket, & shirt opened. Looks like a rag of some sort was possibly placed on the wound..?

Looking at the picture, & thinking about his wounds, I can't help but wonder if that's where he was wounded, or if he laid there to rest. Did somebody tend to his chest wound..? If so, why is his rifle laying on his feet. Could that part of the photo be staged..?

The longer I look at the photos, the more questions I come up with. I can't help but wonder about his last moments.. I hope he can be identified.

 

[lelliott19]

He has a very unusual ear, with attached earlobe, and a distinctive nose.

 

[lelliott19]

I agree. The leg wound is pretty clear. I think you're right about the chest wound too. Makes sense seeing the jacket, & shirt opened. Looks like a rag of some sort was possibly placed on the wound..?

Looking at the picture, & thinking about his wounds, I can't help but wonder if that's where he was wounded, or if he laid there to rest. Did somebody tend to his chest wound..? If so, why is his rifle laying on his feet. Could that part of the photo be staged..?

The longer I look at the photos, the more questions I come up with. I can't help but wonder about his last moments.. I hope he can be identified.

Yes, I think someone tried to tend to him - at least get him into a somewhat sheltered position and as comfortable as possible. He had his canteen and the stopper is out so he could get to it - as long as he could lift it.

I think the rifle was laid across him as a photographer's prop. It may or may not have been his rifle.

Somebody's darling so young and so brave,
Wearing still on his sweet yet pale face
Soon to be hid in the dust of the grave,
The lingering light of his boyhood's grace.

Somebody's darling, somebody's pride,
Who'll tell his Mother where her boy died?

 

[Viper21]

Yes, I think someone tried to tend to him - at least get him into a somewhat sheltered position and as comfortable as possible. He had his canteen and the stopper is out so he could get to it - as long as he could lift it.
View attachment 371129
I think the rifle was laid across him as a photographer's prop. It may or may not have been his rifle.

Somebody's darling so young and so brave,
Wearing still on his sweet yet pale face
Soon to be hid in the dust of the grave,
The lingering light of his boyhood's grace.

Somebody's darling, somebody's pride,
Who'll tell his Mother where her boy died?

What's in his hand..? His hand opposite his haversack. Looks like he's grasping something....

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

Lookee what I found! So, it appears others have doen some investigating on this in the past after all....first of all, here is the link to the main article:

https://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/revisiting-the-confederate-dead-at-the-widow-alsops-farm/


But here is a compelling quote in light of the building(s) that lelliot19 spotted:

"Susan Alsop was next-door-neighbor to Clement Harris, whose farm would lend its name to the 1864 battle. Overlaying Nathaniel Michler's 1867 map of Spotsylvania Battlefield allows us to locate the farm fairly well: it sat well off the main road, almost exactly one-third of a mile north-northeast of Harris's Farm. Michler's map shows a main house with three outbuildings extending southward on the farm lane leading to the Harris Place–though we cannot be sure that the buildings shown on Michler's map were present in 1864, we presume they probably were."

I think I see three buildings in the picture. So, if these are the buildings we see in the picture, then the soldier died very close to the Alsop house, just to the south of it. That would imply he belonged to Grimes or Ramseur's units (not sure if Doles fought or was held in reserve...any information on that would help).

The 1st Maine Artillery buried the dead from Ewell's attack. Here is a picture, which is from the photographer's set of pictures that day. ​

Grimes unit was directly in front of the 1st Maine.

Is this starting to come together???​

 

[lelliott19]

What's in his hand..? His hand opposite his haversack. Looks like he's grasping something....

I cant see his other hand. The hand next to his haversack doesnt seem to be holding anything. He might have been holding that cut off canteen - looks like it has a wooden handle attached to it to make a dipper?

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

He has a very unusual ear, with attached earlobe, and a distinctive nose.
View attachment 371128

Yes, he does. I noticed that last night. Although I have been meaning to start this post for some time, a picture of a soldier from the 3rd South Carolina caught my eye and I tried matching it up with this fallen soldier. But the ear lobe is quite different, so it didn't seem like a match. Anyhow, I began to investigate if the 3rd South Carolina was in this fight, etc, etc....based on the info I was gathering I thought I'd start the post.

Re the belt buckle, Is that a large "S" I see? (perhaps for SC???).

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

If anyone has the link to high a quality TIFF of these photos, please share. The quality of the ones I got from the LOC is not that great, and its limiting my ability to look at the details.

Great work already, guys! I am surprised at how quickly you all jumped on this, starting posting close-ups, etc.

 

[lelliott19]

Bryan Grimes

Grimes, Bryan, 1828-1880. [from old catalog], and Pulaski Cowper. Extracts of Letters of Major-General Bryan Grimes, to His Wife. Raleigh, N.C.: A. Williams & co., 1884, pp. 53-54.

 

[treebie2000]

He's wearing an inverted US buckle.

 

[Viper21]

Bryan Grimes
View attachment 371140
View attachment 371141
Grimes, Bryan, 1828-1880. [from old catalog], and Pulaski Cowper. Extracts of Letters of Major-General Bryan Grimes, to His Wife. Raleigh, N.C.: A. Williams & co., 1884, pp. 53-54.

Augustus Byers (1825-1864) - Find a Grave Memorial

Find a Grave memorial for Augustus Byers born 1825 and died 19 May 1864. Buried at Pleasant Hill Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, United States of America, North America

www.findagrave.com

 

[lelliott19]

Augustus Byers (1825-1864) - Find a Grave Memorial

Find a Grave memorial for Augustus Byers born 1825 and died 19 May 1864. Buried at Pleasant Hill Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, United States of America, North America

www.findagrave.com

I should have been more specific. I didn't mean to imply that I thought the unfortunate soldier could be one of those ID'd by Bryan Grimes in his letter. Junius Daniel was mortally wounded May 12, 1864 and died May 13th. At the time, Bryan Grimes was Col commanding the 4th NC, Ramseur's brigade.

After Daniel's wounding, Grimes assumed command of Daniel's brigade? This engagement occurred on May 19, 1864. The letter seems to indicate that the two brigades - Daniel's and Ramseur's - were operating in close proximity? Perhaps closer than might be assumed by looking at the map, since Grimes had just assumed command? I highlighted the part with the casualties, just to note that Grimes old regiment the 4th NC lost 65 killed and wounded. It'd be great if someone could look up Ramseur's and Grimes's reports to calculate the casualties in those two brigades.

 

[Gandycreek]

He's wearing an inverted US buckle.

Yes, Southern Nation style.

 

[treebie2000]

Yes, I think someone tried to tend to him - at least get him into a somewhat sheltered position and as comfortable as possible. He had his canteen and the stopper is out so he could get to it - as long as he could lift it.
View attachment 371129
I think the rifle was laid across him as a photographer's prop. It may or may not have been his rifle.

Somebody's darling so young and so brave,
Wearing still on his sweet yet pale face
Soon to be hid in the dust of the grave,
The lingering light of his boyhood's grace.

Somebody's darling, somebody's pride,
Who'll tell his Mother where her boy died?

The rifle is a prop.
In the first photo it lies down between his feet, extending well past his boots. In the second photo the rifle butt rests on his shin.
As far as being tended to:
I think he definitely was. He took a massive wound to the abdomen and/or chest. If you look closely you'll see that his entire abdomen has been wrapped. This shows clearest where his shirt is bunched up. Note that there are no shirt buttons going down the front of his shirt. Then in the side view look at the stretched cloth of the wide wrap. Someone tried to bind his abdomen tight, then stuffed additional rags down into the top in a hurried attempt at a crude pressure bandage. Just my opinion.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Hi folks.

These two pictures have had a hook in me since I first saw them:
View attachment 371111View attachment 371114

(If anyone has better quality pictures, please feel free to post. I got them from the LOC website.)

I have been wondering for some time now if this unfortunate soldier was ever identified. Inspired by the following thread ( https://civilwartalk.com/threads/question-about-sharpsburg-casualty-photograph.169156/ ), I wondered if we could work together to try and identify this dead Confederate soldier.
I am an amateur at this. Many of the folks that contributed to the Sharpsburg Casualty thread seem to know what to do and have the right kind of information resources. Will you try to help me with this identification?

The titles of the two pictures are:
Scene of Ewell's attack, May 19, 1864, near Spottsylvania [i.e. Spotsylvania] Court House. Dead Confederate soldiers


Dead Confederate soldier as he lay on the field, after the battle of the 19th May, near Mrs. Allsop's, Pine Forest, 3 miles from Spottsylvania [i.e. Spotsylvania] Court House, Va.

First of all, has the soldier ever been identified? (I haven't seen anything online that would suggest he was). If not, I think we may have a decent shot at trying to identify him. From what I have read (and I am ****ed cuz I can't find the reference that I saw last night!), Ewell's casualties on May 16, 1864 during the "Harris Farm engagement" was about 900 total, of which 123 were killed (that's the reference I can't find at the moment). Since we know the units involved in the battle, and with only 123 possible names of the to sort through, I was hopeful we'd have some success in identifying the soldier.

I did manage to find this map, which should be very helpful in narrowing down the units that were engaged near the Alsop Farm.

View attachment 371115

Based on this, it seems likely that the soldier belonged to Gordon or Rhodes commands….but of course, where exactly the soldier was found on the battlefield would be important to know in order to identify which specific unit he belonged to….is there any way of determining that? In other threads there has been information presented on maps as to where certain photographs were taken….I am hoping such information exists.
The "pine forest" is a clue, and the picture shows a rail fence so it is likely at the edge of a property.

Is there anything about his clothing that can help identify his unit?

Are there any newspaper archives that would provide casualty lists for the May 19th​ battle?

Lots of questions, unfortunately not enough experience and resources for me to tap into…other than you folks that contribute to the Forums. I am going to page/PM the main contributors to the Sharpsburg Casualty thread to see if they can repeat what they did in that thread. Hopefully some other folks can contribute to this effort too!

I've always believed the man in question is the first in the line of these laid out for burial?