Killed vs Mortally Wounded?

[Stryker65]

The Official Records do not seem to have fixed characteristics for the two; there are instances of officers listed as "killed" who died anywhere from one to three hours later, and officers "mortally wounded" who died the same day. Should "killed" refer to someone who was killed instantly or semi-instantly, and "mortally wounded" for those thereafter?

It seems to me that there would need to be a time limit, morbid as it is, to fit the correct description. Should "killed" solely refer to those who died within 1 hour of their wounding? What would you qualify as "Killed" vs "Mortally wounded"?

 

[35th MA InfRegt]

The Army Regulations for 1857 don't appear to have much to say on the topic. Perhaps the precise categories of "killed" versus "mortally wounded" didn't exist, and commanding officers had some discretion as to how these deaths were defined for the record. I would imagine that casualties who died before the stretcher bearers showed up were apt to be listed as killed, while those who made it to an aid station or a hospital before perishing would fit into the "mortally wounded" category. In the First World War and later, the Army would have listed these latter casualties as DOW (died of wounds), and casualties who died prior to receiving medical attention as KIA (killed in action). I wouldn't overthink it too much. I doubt it is much more complicated than that.

 

[lelliott19]

The Official Records do not seem to have fixed characteristics for the two; there are instances of officers listed as "killed" who died anywhere from one to three hours later, and officers "mortally wounded" who died the same day. Should "killed" refer to someone who was killed instantly or semi-instantly, and "mortally wounded" for those thereafter?

It seems to me that there would need to be a time limit, morbid as it is, to fit the correct description. Should "killed" solely refer to those who died within 1 hour of their wounding? What would you qualify as "Killed" vs "Mortally wounded"?

I don't think anybody knew back then either. When I was doing research for the Most Destructive Artillery Impact of the BoG I realized that it mainly depended on when the report was sent back to the newspaper. On the earliest report several of the victims were listed as "wounded severely" or "mortally wounded." On later reports, some of the guys who were mortally wounded and removed to the Cunningham Farm field hospital were listed as "killed." I guess they had died by then.

One soldier, 17 yo Marcus A Ellison (B/16thGA), was a victim of the multi-casualty artillery impact. His Captain reported Ellison as "mortally wounded." Surgeons amputated his right leg and a grisly head wound carried away his right eye. It's easy to see how Captain Venable might have observed Ellison's condition and assumed he was "mortally wounded." But the youth did not know he had been killed. He was captured in the field hospital, transferred to Union hospitals, underwent more surgeries, was held as a prisoner, and eventually made it back to Jackson County, GA.

Marc Ellison's physical wounds healed (at least partially) but the emotional wounds did not. By 1871, he was 25 years old, had killed two men, been arrested, and was imprisoned. In 1875, he stabbed a guard and then attempted suicide -- by cutting his own throat with a razor but he was unsuccessful. Three years later, in 1878, Ellison ended his own life by successfully cutting his own throat with a razor.

Perhaps Captain Venable was right when he wrote "mortally wounded" next to Ellison's name?

 

[Tom Elmore]

From what I have observed, the terms "killed" and "mortally wounded" are subjective terms. "Instantly" killed is definitive enough, but some lingered from minutes to hours, transitioning at some undefined moment to those labeled as mortally wounded, who might linger days, weeks, or months (although their deaths often occurred from secondary causes like disease or sepsis that took precedence as the cause of death). Even some who died years or decades later were attributed to their old war wound.

In other words, the entire gamut from seconds to years, thus any defined time period will necessarily be arbitrary. If one sets the boundary at one day between killed and mortally wounded, doubtless there's someone died after 23 hours, 59 minutes and another who succumbed two minutes later. As @lelliott19 suggests, the term often has more to do with when it was reported.

 

[G Low]

Stonewall was mortally wounded. Those Yankees that were wounded and captured by Forrest's cavalry were mortally wounded too but the Alabama doctor saved them!!

 

[RedRover]

The Official Records do not seem to have fixed characteristics for the two; there are instances of officers listed as "killed" who died anywhere from one to three hours later, and officers "mortally wounded" who died the same day. Should "killed" refer to someone who was killed instantly or semi-instantly, and "mortally wounded" for those thereafter?

It seems to me that there would need to be a time limit, morbid as it is, to fit the correct description. Should "killed" solely refer to those who died within 1 hour of their wounding? What would you qualify as "Killed" vs "Mortally wounded"?

The distinction of killed in action and mortally wounded could be a very fine line apparently. And officers had to make value judgements on reporting men "killed in action." It seems generally to have meant men who were not given significant medical treatment on the field before their death during or about the time of action. As in the case of those certainly found dead on or about the field of action.

Coroners were of course not on hand to examine the bodies to determine time of death. It appears those presumed "killed in action" were certainly those deprived of life, etc. "in action" in front of the enemy, etc.

Even those "killed" usually died after a short period, however long. Some were seemingly dead before they hit the ground...

Lt. Col. Chandler of the 88th Illinois died almost instantly when killed in action at Kennesaw Mountain.

Some perhaps not so instantly, as with Henry Ropes at Gettysburg...

Colonel Roberts of the 1st Michigan at Second Manassas died in about ten minutes after informing his men he was killed...

Both the killed and wounded were of course wounded, and in action. Besides those classed as "killed" the men officially "wounded in action," were alive or showed signs of life when recovered or carried off the field apparently. Whether the wounds were proved fatal or not, was a question of time. Some died before they could even be carried to the rear or given aid. They appear to have been a large proportion of those later recorded as "killed in action" generally. Of the wounded, the mortally wounded were those among them who died within hours, days, weeks or even months later while under medical treatment etc.

From the 45th Massachusetts's Volunteer Militia history, we have this notice on the difficulties of officers in assigning the classifications. The Governor of Massachusetts's argues the 45th suffered 10 "killed in action" on the rolls and accuses the regimental commander of lying when he reported 21 "killed in action." Edward Winslow Hincks notes here how silly the arguments could become given the realities of the battlefields:

 

[lelliott19]

Those Yankees that were wounded and captured by Forrest's cavalry were mortally wounded too but the Alabama doctor saved them!!

Yes! Dr William Leggett Lewis, the Blountsville AL country doctor, saved the lives of all four of those "mortally wounded" Indianans. Three of the four lived to be >65 years old. In case anyone missed it, here's the amazing story.

Thread 'Dr. William Leggett Lewis - Alabama Country Doctor Who Beat 1890s Antisepsis by 30 Years and Saved Four Union Survivors of Day's Gap 1863'

Nov 17, 2025

In May–June 1863, Dr. William Leggett Lewis of Blountsville, AL was simultaneously using

• One of the most effective topical antiseptics that would not be "discovered" for wound care for another 30 years (gentian violet)
• One of the most effective topical antiseptics of the previous generation that was being phased out for toxicity (red precipitate)

And he was using them in the correct combination, with frequent dressing changes, in a small private setting instead of a fly-infested general hospital ward. The result? Four men who statistically should have ALL died...

• lelliott19
• Replies: 78
• Forum: Medical Care

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[Nathan Stuart]

There does not appear to be any official definitions on this. From my posting in a much earlier thread, seems combat-induced casualties can be categorized as follows:-

KILLED (comprising those who were KIA or MW and died prior to the official count);
WOUNDED (including those who DOW, but were assessed as 'Wounded' at the time of the official count); &
MISSING (a catch-all for everyone else who was not accounted for at the time of the official count - whether they be dead, captured, absentees or deserters).

These categories appeared to depend on the status assigned at the time of the official post-action count, whenever afterwards that might have occurred.

 

[G Low]

Remember NFB's quote after he thought he himself was mortally wounded, "No da** man kills me and lives"…

 

[Belfoured]

From what I have observed, the terms "killed" and "mortally wounded" are subjective terms. "Instantly" killed is definitive enough, but some lingered from minutes to hours, transitioning at some undefined moment to those labeled as mortally wounded, who might linger days, weeks, or months (although their deaths often occurred from secondary causes like disease or sepsis that took precedence as the cause of death). Even some who died years or decades later were attributed to their old war wound.

In other words, the entire gamut from seconds to years, thus any defined time period will necessarily be arbitrary. If one sets the boundary at one day between killed and mortally wounded, doubtless there's someone died after 23 hours, 59 minutes and another who succumbed two minutes later. As @lelliott19 suggests, the term often has more to do with when it was reported.

One thing I noticed is a very generalized and purely anecdotal/unscientific sampling notion that if a soldier was moved from the spot where he was hit towards the rear or survived until nightfall he was usually referred to as mortally wounded withoit regard to how long or short the interval was. Whether that was the limit on how he was officially classified as MW is an entirely different matter. The sooner a guy died the more subjective it became. I've never seen anything officially defining it. It seems to be in the "you know it when you see it" category.

A good example of the longer periods you refer to is Israel Richardson. He was hit on September 17, 1862 and died six weeks later of an infection. It was expected he would survive before that. So he went from W to MW. Jackson underwent the same transition over a shorter period. Obviously different from, say, a wound such as W.H.L. Wallace incurred at Shiloh. He lingered for a few days but was never going to recover. As a matter of common sense there has to be some cutoff which is far sooner than something like 6 months - solely IMHO. Ultimately the wound may have been the "original harm" but as time goes on there are too many variables that come in to play, especially because the K/MW/W statistics are supposed to give some sense of the direct costs of a battle.