Seeking Possible Identification? : Graphic!

[Johnny_Reb_1865]

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the famous photo of dead Confederates who were photographed along the Hagerstown Pike at Sharpsburg.

These men were members of Starke's Louisiana Brigade who were made up of the following units.

10th Louisiana Infantry
15th Louisiana Infantry
1st Louisiana (Zouaves) Infantry Battalion
1st Louisiana Volunteer Infantry
2nd Louisiana Infantry
9th Louisiana Infantry

In the photograph there is the body of a Confederate sergeant. So I did some research and narrowed it down to the following men.

Antietam: Sgt A. B. C. Davis

antietam.aotw.org

Antietam: Sgt Samuel Kearney

antietam.aotw.org

Antietam: Pvt Philip Georges

antietam.aotw.org

Antietam: Sgt George F. Richardson

antietam.aotw.org

Antietam: Sgt John Ryan

antietam.aotw.org

Antietam: Sgt Charles Henry Clay Trabue

antietam.aotw.org

Antietam: Sgt William T. Clack

antietam.aotw.org

Antietam: Sgt Alexander Feuga

antietam.aotw.org

Any thoughts on which soldier the unfortunate could be?

 

[Johnny_Reb_1865]

I think the next steps are:
1. Tracking down the photo of Richardson that one of the posters mentioned
2. Determining the approximate age of the sergeant

Absolutely.

I believe that he is in his 20s or early 30s.

Which leaves us (so far) with:

1. Sgt. Alexander Feuga, Co. I, 10th LA. Inf. Regt. (21 years old)

2. Sgt. John Ryan, Co. D, 1st LA. Inf. Regt. (25 years old.)

3. Sgt. R. T. Rabun/Raborn, Co. H, 9th LA. Inf. Regt. (21 years old.)

4. Sgt. George F. Richardson, Co. G, 1st LA. Inf. Regt. (23 years old.)

5. Sgt. Joseph Joyce, Co. D, 10th LA. Inf. Regt. (33 Years old.)

I'm looking into the other men as well at the moment so I'll report back.with their military records if I can find them.

Side note: One of Sgt. R. T. Rabun/Raborn's cards state that he was born in Germany while another says Belgium.

 

[Johnny_Reb_1865]

Which Regiment took the most losses as far as killed?

 

[rpkennedy]

Which Regiment took the most losses as far as killed?

Good luck figuring that one out. We only have estimates for how many men were present, much less the number of losses that they suffered.

Ryan

 

[gbeardsley]

Unsure of accuracy. Taken from aotw

 

[rpkennedy]

Hartwig places Starke's numbers at around 850 engaged with total losses in the 300 range with 80+ killed. Those numbers seem reasonable to me.

Ryan

 

[Johnny_Reb_1865]

View attachment 546714
Unsure of accuracy. Taken from aotw

Should he pretty accurate I think. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Johnny_Reb_1865]

View attachment 546714
Unsure of accuracy. Taken from aotw

I had actually counted 16 bodies in this full image which happens to match with the reported 1 officer and 15 enlisted men killed for the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment.

(NOTE: There is a body on the far left side of the image.)

Any idea what the heck this is?

 

[gbeardsley]

I had actually counted 16 bodies in this full image which happens to match with the reported 1 officer and 15 enlisted men killed for the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment.

(NOTE: There is a body on the far left side of the image.)

View attachment 546850


View attachment 546851

Any idea what the heck this is?

Mess kit maybe? Not very familiar with the equipment.

 

[gbeardsley]

I had actually counted 16 bodies in this full image which happens to match with the reported 1 officer and 15 enlisted men killed for the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment.

(NOTE: There is a body on the far left side of the image.)

View attachment 546850


View attachment 546851

Any idea what the heck this is?

The 1st also lost 16 total killed so it could very well be either regiment. My money's on the first due to suffering more casualties overall and being on the left end of Starkes line.

 

[Johnny_Reb_1865]

The 1st also lost 16 total killed so it could very well be either regiment. My money's on the first due to suffering more casualties overall and being on the left end of Starkes line.

If it is the first there is only one possibility on who the Sergeant is.

Sgt. John Ryan, Co. D, 1st LA. Inf. Regt.
(Born about 1837 in Ireland, And was 25 years old)

 

[gbeardsley]

George Richardson is, I believe, ancestor of mine — one my great grandmother's parent's siblings. I know there is at least one photo of him a passed down genealogy book, from the Carroll - Jenkins - Perry Family. Scattered around St Landry, Avoyelles, Rapides, and Evangeline parish among others .

Any updates on locating the photo? We are all interested in what he would've looked like.

 

[Johnny_Reb_1865]

Any updates on locating the photo? We are all interested in what he would've looked like.

Yes same here!

 

[gbeardsley]

Any updates?

 

[gbeardsley]

Have a bit of an update from Bob Gottschalk of the Antietam Institute:
"Hello Greyson.
I have spent some years now researching the counterattack of Starke's 2nd Louisiana Brigade and Taliaferro's Brigade, and am presently working on an article on William E. Starke. Of all my historical studies over the years, these have been the most difficult.
Here are the few things I can tell you with any certainty.
The 2nd Louisiana Brigade was formed numerically, left to right on the morning of September 17. The 1st Louisiana Regiment was in the southwest corner of the "Clover Field," maybe even slightly inside the West Woods, with the 2nd, 9th, 10th, and 15th regiments spread to its right. The 23rd Virginia Regiment held the left of Taliaferro's Brigade, with the 37th Virginia on its right, and the 47th and 48th Alabama Regiments respectively.
Sadly, there are few, if any, first-hand accounts left by members of Starke's Brigade. Perhaps this is because so many were foreign-born or because so many survivors didn't survive later battles.
The 1st Louisiana was the only regiment to lose a flag in the fight along the turnpike, and only because the flag bearer rashly climbed the turnpike fence, and dropped the colors where they couldn't be retrieved prior the brigade's retreat.
I hope this has been of some assistance., and good luck in your studies!
Bob Gottschalk"


Hopefully this sparks some more interest in this thread as it is a subject I find very interesting.

 

[gbeardsley]

With the previous information posted and the location of the photos I think it is more probable than not that most of the men are of the 1st Louisiana Regiment. Hopefully we can narrow down who the Sergeant was and identify him. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[gbeardsley]

For future notes: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7386503

 

[MDcivilwarbuff]

I understand why you likely chose to include the word graphic in your thread description. However, as Civil War researchers shouldn't we expect her certain photos, especially those of the dead on battlefields would be graphic in nature.

With that being said, it appears that identifying these men will take some time since I don't see any distinctive elements in their uniform, like the Iron Brigades tall black hats or red pants for the Zouaves for instance. I also don't see insignia in general which makes it even harder, at least for me, to identify these men. Of course I'm still developing my ability to identify soldiers by uniform alone, I can only do generals at the moment, and I also typically identify them based solely on their facial hair or lack there of (I'm looking at you Barlow).

All that to say it seems like these are confederate dead, at least in my best estimation. It also looks like their mostly enlisted men due to the lack of additional insignia. Did any CSA units have distinct insignia (other than the Zouaves red pants)?

 

[gbeardsley]

I understand why you likely chose to include the word graphic in your thread description. However, as Civil War researchers shouldn't we expect her certain photos, especially those of the dead on battlefields would be graphic in nature.

With that being said, it appears that identifying these men will take some time since I don't see any distinctive elements in their uniform, like the Iron Brigades tall black hats or red pants for the Zouaves for instance. I also don't see insignia in general which makes it even harder, at least for me, to identify these men. Of course I'm still developing my ability to identify soldiers by uniform alone, I can only do generals at the moment, and I also typically identify them based solely on their facial hair or lack there of (I'm looking at you Barlow).

All that to say it seems like these are confederate dead, at least in my best estimation. It also looks like their mostly enlisted men due to the lack of additional insignia. Did any CSA units have distinct insignia (other than the Zouaves red pants)?

These are most likely Louisianans based on the location of the photo.