Brass Napoleon Award Last Words and Moments of Soldiers

Not exactly his last words, but I hope it fits the spirit of the thread--

Dear Parents, Brothers and Sisters: I am wounded, mortally I think. The fight rages around me. I have done my duty, this is my consolation. I hope to meet you all again. I left not the line until nearly all had fallen and the colors gone. I am getting weak, my arms are free, but my chest is all numb. The enemy trotting over me, the numbness up to my heart. Goodbye all. Your son, Allen.

Captain Allen Zacharias, 7th Michigan at Antietam. Zecharias was wounded in the West Woods and wrote this note as he lay on the field. A Maine soldier found Zacharias with the note, and sent the note home to Zacharias's family. In the end, Zacharias lived far longer than he or anyone else expected, not succumbing to his wound until December 31, 1862, at a hospital in Hagerstown.
 
Chaplain Flynn was asked the direction of the fighting by a dying lieutenant, who asked Flynn to turn him over so that he would face that way. He then calmly said, “I do not wish to die with my back towards the field of battle.” 1st Lieutenant Frederick Bliss, Company B, 8th Georgia; mortally wounded July 2, died July 4. [George Hillyer, Battle of Gettysburg, August 2, 1904]

Captain, if you will help me over the fence, I will try to go on.” Private John F Stephens, Company C, 9th Georgia; mortally wounded July 2. Captain Hillyer told him to remain where he was and have the litter corps carry him to the rear, but Stephens died in the meantime. [George Hillyer, Battle of Gettysburg, August 2, 1904]

You can do me no good; I am dying. Follow your piece!” Corporal Joseph T. Van Lantz, Taylor’s battery, Alexander’s battalion; killed July 2. Van Lantz was speaking to one of his comrades from the battery who came to his assistance. [Confederate Veteran, vol. 32 (1924), p. 59]

Oh, my poor wife and children.” Private Patrick McNeil, Parker’s battery, Alexander’s battalion; mortally wounded July 3. [Royall Figg, “Where Men Only Dare to Go!”]

Oh God, is it possible that I must die?” Colonel Joseph Wasden, 22nd Georgia; mortally wounded July 2. [Memoir of William B. Judkins, G/22 GA]

Now you may let go.” Levi Smith, Company A, 148th Pennsylvania; mortally wounded. A surgeon told him he would die soon after a comrade withdrew his hand that was compressing his wound, so Smith asked for paper and pen and wrote a letter to his mother. After finishing, he let himself fall back, hesitated a moment, then spoke his final words. [The Story of our Regiment, A History of the 148th Pennsylvania Vols., ed. by Adj. J. W. Muffly, Des Moines, IA: The Kenyon Printing and Mfg. Co., 1904]

George, keep up good courage.” Captain Henry V. Fuller, Company F, 64th New York; mortally wounded July 2. Private George W. Whipple had just helped drag Fuller to Rose Run when the Confederates came up and ordered Whipple to the rear. [Memories of George W. Whipple, Private, Company F, 64th N. Y. V., 1861-1865, 8th Georgia Infantry Webpage]

I would rather be killed than beaten today.” Corporal William W. Goodell, Company D, 14th Connecticut; killed July 3. [Souvenir of Excursion to Battlefields by the Society of the Fourteenth Connecticut Regiment, by Chaplain H. S. Stevens, Washington: Gibson Bros. Fronters and Bookbinders, 1893, p. 37]

Mother! Mother! Mother!” Colonel Harrison H. Jeffords, 4th Michigan; mortally wounded July 2. Recorded by his surgeon, who informed regimental quartermaster Lt. Robert H. Campbell. [War Reminiscences of Robert H. Campbell, Bentley Historical Library, Civil War collections online]

Oh, I am shot.” 2nd Lieutenant John J. McKeever, Company A, 29th Pennsylvania; mortally wounded July 3. [Captain William S. Stork, Personal Recollections of the Civil War, The Lutheran Observer, vol. 72, May 27, 1904]
 
Congratulations @Tom Elmore

I enjoy ALL of your posts, but this one is really powerful. I'm so glad you started it! I cant think of a better thread to receive the Brass Napoleon award. Again, congratulations for well-deserved recognition for such an outstanding contribution to CivilWarTalk!
 
"You can do nothing for me. Go on." Captain William Scantland Sadler, 8th Tennessee, CSA, said this to his younger brother, Lee Sadler, during the Battle of Stones River/Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This happened around noon, December 31, 1862. He'd been hit by cannon fire while leading his men across a dry cornfield. Captain Sadler, my G-G-G-Grandfather came from Jackson County, Tennessee.
 
According to the San Francisco Bulletin, of 30 May 1862:
"The correspondent of a San Francisco paper says that Gen. Ben McCulloch, of the Confederates, who was killed in Arkansas during the late three days' battle, had his 'last word.' Just before he died he was told to prepare for the 'great change,' 'Oh, Hell!' replied he, and, rolling over on his side almost instantly breathed his last, and expired."​
Times-Picayune_1862-05-03_2.png

[N.O. Times-Picayune, May 3, 1862]

Centinel_Of_Freedom_1863-12-29_[4].png

[Newark Centinel of Freedom, Dec. 29, 1863]

Columbus_Daily_Enquirer_1866-06-07_[2].png

[June, 1866]​
 
Come on, boys, come on! The Fifth Texas will get there before the Fourth. Come on, boys, come on!” Private Rufus B. Franks, Company I, 4th Alabama; mortally wounded July 2, died July 2 or 3 at the John Edward Plank farm. [W. C. Ward, “Incidents and Personal Experiences on the Battlefield of Gettysburg,” Confederate Veteran, vol. 8 (1900), pp,. 345-349]

The last words of Private Lucian Lloyd of Company G, 28th North Carolina on July 3 were that he wanted peace, as told to his tentmate James F. Craige of the same company. [The Hillsborough Recorder, NC, September 30, 1863, p. 3]

Don’t leave me, boys.” Private Edwin G. Aylesworth, Company G, 147th New York; mortally wounded July 1, died July 10 at Seminary hospital. Told to Capt. J. V. Pierce and Sgt. Peter Shuttz, who had to leave Aylesworth behind as Davis’ brigade closed in on them. [J. Volney Pierce, New York at Gettysburg, III:992]

I would like to see my mother and sisters, but I never will.” Andrew Gregg Tucker, 1st Lieutenant and Acting Adjutant, 142nd Pennsylvania; mortally wounded July 1, died on July 4 or 5. [https://civilwartalk.com/threads/un...the-battle-of-gettysburg.162393/#post-2124121]

Tell mother I received my wound on my twentieth birthday. I give my life for my country; if I had another I would give it too.” Private Charles M. Lowe, Company K, 19th Maine; mortally wounded July 3. [Killed in Action, by Gregory A. Coco]

This is the fourth or fifth time they have shot at me, and they have hit me at last.” On being told by a surgeon there was no hope, he said, “Then I want you to send for my wife as soon as possible.” Later he said, “I presume I have done my last fighting.” In his final moments he attempted to repeat the Lord’s Prayer. Colonel Strong Vincent; mortally wounded July 2. [Eighty-Third Regiment, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, by Samuel P. Bates, vol. II; A. M. Judson, History of the Eight-Third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers]

Oh God!, I am shot.” 2nd Lieutenant Silas A. Miller, Company A, 12th U.S. Infantry; lived about 10 minutes after being struck on July 2. Recorded by Adjutant B. P. Mimmack, 12th U.S. Infantry. [Killed in Action, by Gregory A. Coco]

Lieutenant John L. Willman of Company D, 1st Maryland Potomac Home Brigade asked a superior officer to bear testimony to the world that he had discharged his duty faithfully as an officer. Willman was mortally wounded on July 3. [Eulogy of Lt. Col. John A. Steiner, 1st Maryland Potomac Home Brigade, Historical Society of Frederick County, Maryland]
 
"Don’t leave me, boys.” Private Edwin G. Aylesworth, Company G, 147th New York; mortally wounded July 1, died July 10 at Seminary hospital. Told to Capt. J. V. Pierce and Sgt. Peter Shuttz, who had to leave Aylesworth behind as Davis’ brigade closed in on them. [J. Volney Pierce, New York at Gettysburg, III:992]

Private Aylesworth calling out for help haunted Captain Pierce for the rest of his life. He wrote about it several times in the postwar era.

Ryan
 
Now let me die as a soldier and a Christian.” Brigadier General Paul J. Semmes; mortally wounded on July 2, died in Martinsburg, (West) Virginia on July 9 or 10. Told to James A. Cody and John Redd of the 2nd Georgia. [James Adolphus “Doll” Cody, the Friend of Gen. Semmes, by Lee Camp Moore, Confederate Reminiscences and Letters, 1861-1865, Georgia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Atlanta, GA, vol. 7, p. 22]

A widow – three sweet babes fatherless – mourning – Miserere Mei Deus.” [Latin for “Have mercy on me, God”.] Private Newton J. Tedder, Company D, 17th Mississippi; mortally wounded July 2. [The Weekly Panola Star (Panola, Mississippi), June 2, 1866, p. 3]

Oh! Billy, I’m shot.” Private Joseph Calvin Clifford, Company G, 5th North Carolina; killed July 1. He spoke those words to his brother, William, of the same company. [http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/genealogy/ancestorcomments]

Good-bye, Captain, I hope we will meet in a better world. Tell all the boys good-bye for me, and tell them I glory in the spunk of Company I.” Private James M. Williams, Company I, 6th North Carolina; mortally wounded July 2. [The North Carolina Standard (Raleigh), July 29, 1863, p. 3]

Colonel, won’t you write to my folks that I died a soldier?” Corporal James Kelly, Company B, 6th Wisconsin; mortally wounded July 1, died July 21. Spoken to his Colonel, Rufus Dawes. [Letters of Rufus Dawes, http://www.nps.gov/gett/getttour/sidebar/dawes.htm]

I am shot!” Private Peter Drumheller, Company K, 151st Pennsylvania; killed July 1. Struck by a solid shot that severed both of his legs. [Like Ripe Apples in the Storm, The 151st Pennsylvania at Gettysburg, by Michael A. Dreese, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2000, p. 39]

No, killed!” 2nd Lieutenant Elias B. Weidensaul, Company D, 150th Pennsylvania; killed July 1. Weidensaul was responding to the Adjutant’s question as to whether he was wounded. Weidensaul had been promoted to Lieutenant from 1st Sergeant the day before. [Address of Lt. Col. Thomas Chamberlin, Pennsylvania at Gettysburg, II:752; History of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, by Lt. Col. Thomas Chamberlin]

It’s all up with me, Faville.” Brigadier General Samuel Zook; mortally wounded July 2. 1st Lieutenant Josiah Faville was the brigade’s Assistant Adjutant General. [New York at Gettysburg, 57th New York]

Oh, God, cut me loose, let me go.” Private Cephas Dodd Sharp, Company D, 140th Pennsylvania; mortally wounded July 2. [http://www.pacivilwar.com/bios/sharp_cephas.html]

Well, they won’t do it, for I will shoot the first man who touches me. I am married and I won’t go home to be a burden on my wife.” Corporal James O. Butcher, Company D, 28th Pennsylvania; mortally wounded July 3. Butcher spoke with William Simpson (a musician assigned to the hospital) after being told by the surgeons that his left leg must be amputated. When the surgeons returned later in the day, Butcher was dead. [William T. Simpson, The Drummer Boys of Gettysburg, June 29, 1913, http://www.keltaskavern.com/28th/BillySimpson.html; Killed in Action, by Gregory A. Coco]
 
" Not while I have my sword arm left "

Lt. William Henry Pohlman, 59th New York. He survived long enough to die in a hospital so there may have been another ' last words ', this is what was recorded on the battlefield. Arm shattered by a ball, men begged him to go to leave the fight. " Not while I have my sword arm left ". His story is from an August, 1863 NY paper, found a lot more on him in different searches. Buried in Albany, NY.
 
"Tell mother my trust is in God; how goes the fight?" the last words of Corporal August L. "Gus" Short, Co. C, 17th Georgia Infantry, "uttered while trembling in the death agony." Gus was killed or mortally wounded July 2 at Gettysburg. He was 20 years old. [The Daily Sun. (Columbus, Ga.), August 25, 1863, page 2.]

1582261113090.png

[The Daily Sun. (Columbus, Ga.), August 25, 1863, page 2.]
1582261206420.png
 
Last edited:
Nathan Bedford Forrest had a last conversation with a fellow he'd once threatened to kill - Minor Meriwether. It was the custom to visit dying people and there was a long line but Meriwether and his eleven year old son were last. The boy was still scared of Forrest! But he said, "Don't be afraid, Lee. Your father is my friend." Then he very gently brushed the boy's hair back and said, "May you grow to be a true son of the South." There was a pause and then he said, "Call my wife." And those were his last words.
 
"Who will care for mother now?" reportedly the last words spoken by 17 year old Private William L. Purbeck of the 5th Massachusetts Battery (E commanded by Charles Appleton Phillips.) Purbeck was the son of a widow. On July 2, as he went to the aid of a wounded staff officer pinned under his horse, young Purbeck was hit by a shell fragment and died later that night. [Fifth Massachusetts Battery: Organized October 3, 1861, mustered out June 12, 1865, Luther Cowles, 1902. pp. 640-641.]
1587240368198.png
 
Oh, Lordy.” 2nd Lieutenant William G. “Bill” Branyon, Company K, 26th Alabama; killed July 1. A ball struck him in the breast and he fell backwards. Soon a wounded men went back to Branyon, who was already dead. He took his watch from his pocket and sent it to his wife. (February 1922 letter of Jeff E. Tomlin to William L. White)

God have mercy!” Unidentified young officer of the 43rd North Carolina; killed July 1. (1st Lieutenant Henry E. Shepherd, Company K, 43rd North Carolina, Under Both Flags, by George Morley Vickers)

Boys, I am ruined.” Private Robert W. Crawford, Company B, 11th Alabama; mortally wounded July 2. He asked Sergeant Fleming W. Thompson to inform his family that he was not afraid to die. (Confederates Killed in Action, by Greg Coco, Gettysburg: Thomas Publications, 2001, p. 90)

Boys, it is no use carrying me farther, for I am dying.” Major Andrew Jackson Glover, 76th New York; mortally wounded July 1. Glover was speaking to four men who were carrying him off the field in a blanket. (A Newspaper Editor’s View of Gettysburg, by Richard F. Palmer, http://www.bpmlegal.com/76NY/ed-getty.html)

Mother, do not grieve; it is best and right; bury me with my comrades on the field.” Corporal William C, Schultz, Company I, 71st Pennsylvania, mortally wounded July 2, died on September 29. Told to his mother in a field hospital, as recorded by nurse Anna Holstein. His brother had been killed at Antietam. (Killed in Action, by Greg Coco, Gettysburg: Thomas Publications, 1992, p. 81)

Good night, lieutenant, I think that I shall go up before morning.” Unidentified soldier whispered these words to John G. B. Adams, 19th Massachusetts when it was time to extinguish the lights in their hospital tent. He died during the night. (Reminiscences of the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment, by Capt. John G. B. Adams, Boston, MA: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1899)

I am killed.” Private James Johnston, Company K, 4th Michigan; killed July 2. Told to his comrade, James Houghton. (Killed in Action, by Greg Coco; Gettysburg: Thomas Publications, 1992, p. 44)

I will go home and get a little rest and visit my friends. This thing will soon heal, and I will be back by the time the regiment shall be called into action.” Captain Thomas B. Fox, Company K, 2nd Massachusetts, after being slightly wounded by a minie ball on his ankle. At home he soon contracted a fever that caused delirium and led to his death on July 25. (Captain Everett W. Pattison, Some Reminiscences of Army Life, read before the Commandery of the State of Missouri, 1892, Reprint, Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1982; Busey and Busey, Union Casualties at Gettysburg, 1:152)

“… bear witness that I died game.” Captain Joseph H. Gregg, Company I, 137th New York; mortally wounded July 2. Gregg spoke with Col. David Ireland and Lt. Van Voorhis about 24 hours before his death. (July 6 letter to “Friend Selkreg” from Lt. Col. K. S. Van Voorhis, Camp, 137th New York, Littlestown, PA, Civil War Newspaper Clippings, NY Military Museum, http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/137thInf/137thInfCWN.htm)

Tell father and mother that I died doing my duty in a noble cause, and that I am contented.” Corporal Horace S. Barse, Company E, 5th Michigan Cavalry; mortally wounded July 3. Spoken to his brother, Lieutenant Barse, at a field hospital. (New York Times, August 6, 1863, p. 8)
 
Take me home to my mother. I have a place to be buried in and I want to be buried there. Tell my mother I die a soldier and I hope a Christian.” Major Nathaniel Claiborne Wilson, Acting Lieutenant Colonel, 28th Virginia; mortally wounded July 3 by artillery fire during the afternoon advance. (Diary of Chaplain Peter Tinsley, 28th Virginia, Wheaton College Archives and Special Collections)

Don’t stop for me. Tell mother that I never faltered.” Sergeant Major Asa W. Blanchard, 19th Indiana; killed July 1. Told to a comrade after a musket shot severed an artery in Blanchard’s groin. (August 9, 1887 letter from William W. Dudley to Blanchard’s brother; Account by Henry Marsh, cited in Killed in Action, by Gregory A. Coco)

Goodbye dear wife, goodbye.” An unidentified soldier after kissing an image of his wife (who lived in Maine), then handed it to Acting Sergeant Major Givin of the 114th Pennsylvania, who had been walking over the ground just after the Confederate charge on July 3. Givin asked if he was prepared to die, and the soldier responded, “Yes, I never left that until now,” referring to the image. (Memoirs of Alexander Wallace Givin, 114th Pennsylvania)

Boys, this is the last time we will pray together.” Sergeant Joseph DeHaven, Company F, 114th Pennsylvania; killed July 2. Spoken to fellow soldiers of his prayer group a few hours before the battle. (Memoirs of Alexander Wallace Givin, 114th Pennsylvania)

I am struck.” Captain William N. Chester, Company G, 74th New York, serving as an aide to Gen. A. Humphreys; mortally wounded July 2. (Obituary, Flushing Journal, Civil War Newspaper Clippings, New York State Military Museum)

Take it cool, boys, listen to the command and every man stand to his post.” Captain Ayres G. Barker, 120th New York; killed July 2. A ball passed through his head and he fell dead without a groan. (July 10 letter of Eseck G. Wiber to his parents, Voices of Gettysburg, by Eric A. Campbell)

I am going, Captain.” 1st Sergeant Charles W. Steele, Company H, 20th Maine; mortally wounded July 2. Steele received a wound in his breast and staggered up to Captain Land, who exclaimed, “My God, Sergeant Steele!” just before Steele fell. (Army Life, a Private’s Reminiscences of the War,” by Rev. Theodore Garrish, Portland, ME: Hoyt, Fogg & Donham, 1882)

Mother, home, heaven.” 1st Lieutenant and Adjutant Joseph F. Henery, 157th New York; mortally wounded July 1. Told to volunteer nurse Rebecca “Beckie” Pennypacker Price from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania at the George Spangler farm shortly before his death on July 24. (Phoenixville woman travelled to Gettysburg to tend to wounded, by Frank Otto, June 3, 2013)

Father is not coming.” Unidentified soldier at the George Spangler farm, who had wished to tell his father something that he refused to tell anyone else. Witnessed by volunteer nurse Rebecca “Beckie” Pennypacker Price from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. (Phoenixville woman travelled to Gettysburg to tend to wounded, by Frank Otto, June 3, 2013)

It’s all over with me, but you little know what you have to go through with.” Corporal Lucien J. Smith, Company G, 136th New York; mortally wounded July 3. Told to Lt. Lucien A. Smith. Lucien J. Smith died on July 17. (Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 2:656)
 
" Not while I have my sword arm left "

Lt. William Henry Pohlman, 59th New York. He survived long enough to die in a hospital so there may have been another ' last words ', this is what was recorded on the battlefield. Arm shattered by a ball, men begged him to go to leave the fight. " Not while I have my sword arm left ". His story is from an August, 1863 NY paper, found a lot more on him in different searches. Buried in Albany, NY.
I have noticed other threads about Lt. William H. Pohlman with a number of interesting facts, including that he was born in China to missionary parents, and something about his own ambition to serve in the foreign missions. After serving as a private in the 1st New Jersey Volunteers, and later in the Signal Corps, he was commissioned a lieutenant in January, 1863 and became the Adjutant of the 59th NY. It has been noted by JPK Huson 1863 that his courageous and defiant outcry "Not while I have a sword arm left!" was likely not his last words, as he was eventually taken to a field hospital. The most recent edition of the publication of the Friends of Gettysburg Foundation, "Preservation and Progress" (Vol 32, Issue 1, p. 9), includes an article by Carol Reardon, Ph.D. Dr. Reardon informs us that Lt. Pohlman while still on the battlefield and wounded yet again, this time in the sword arm, refused to be removed, saying to the men of the 59th NY, "Boys, stay in your places. Your country needs every man of you." Dr. Reardon then goes on to provide the story of his last words.

After a brief stay at a field hospital where he was told that his wounds were not too serious, he was removed to the home of George and Margaret Swope on York Street. He sent several missives to his sister, which unknown to him were undelivered. On July 20, he suddenly cried out for his sister. His wound had begun to hemorrhage uncontrollably. This unexpected turn of events would cost him his life. The next day, while apparently trying to rouse the failing lieutenant, a hospital steward shouted into his ear "Adjutant!" The dying officer roused just enough to issue a final order to "Cease firing." As so we have the actual recorded last words of Lt. Pohlman. It seems to me altogether fitting that the coda for a man with hopes for joining the ministry would be words calling for the end of hostility.
 
Back
Top